WORLD record-breaking discus thrower Kevan Baker OBE will be in Keighley this month to highlight on exhibition about the district’s Paralympic athletes.

Kevan, who won Paralympics medals after fighting back from a road accident, will give a talk at Cliffe Castle Museum on Saturday June 29 at 1.30pm.

His appearance is part of the exhibition Paralympic Heritage: Stories from Bradford and Keighley which will run from June 22 to November 3.

The accessible and interactive exhibition, in the exhibition gallery and the nearby domehouse, shows how far the UK has come as a nation in supporting and celebrating disability sport.

Seeing a range of displays, memorabilia and art, visitors will learn about local and national athletes who have contributed to the Paralympic legacy.

This will find out how it all began with the inspirational story of Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann and the D-Day landings.

Cliffe Castle Support Group has organised the talk by Kevan. Admission is free, but booking is essential by calling 01535 618231 or emailing cliffe.castle@bradford.gov.uk.

Kevan, a keen sportsman in his youth playing county level rugby union, was paralysed at the age of 19 when he was involved in a serious road accident in 1979.

Devastated by the news that he would never walk again, Kevan when for rehabilitation at Pinderfields Spinal Centre in Wakefield.

Two wheelchair athletes visited in 1980, training for the World Disabled Games, inspiring Kevan to pursue his love of sport.

He attended a local athletic club, his devising a proper training plan for wheelchair discus with specialists from the British Wheelchair Sports Federation.

Kevan went on to compete at four Paralympic Games, winning bronze medals in 1992 in Barcelona and 1996 in Atlanta. He broke the world record three times, and won three world-record championship gold medals.

In 2012 he was awarded an OBE for his voluntary service to disability sport.

Kevan was chairman of WheelPower (British Wheelchair Sport) from 1995 to 2018, motivating and inspiring many wheelchair users to achieve in the sporting arena. He was inducted into the Stoke Mandeville Sports Hall of Fame in April 2018.

In 2011 Kevan established a Spinal Injuries Patient Support Group in Yorkshire.

He is currently working as a member of the Government Wheelchair Alliance Task Force re-writing policy for wheelchair provision in England along with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

The Paralympic Heritage exhibition was first on display at Cartwright Hall in Bradford, in a partnership Bradford Museums and the National Paralympic Heritage Trust.