Disabled man gains pilot 'wings'

Stephen Clifton regularly flies with a friend in Caernarfon

A man with disabilities will be presented with his "wings" on Sunday after he completed a course in learning to fly with the help of a charity.

Stephen Clifton, a former coach driver from Llandudno, Conwy, can only walk for short periods and is often in pain. He has not worked for years.

He said the the six-week pilot training course at a flying school in Inverness made him feel better in himself.

He will receive his wings at a military air show in Gloucestershire.

Mr Clifton was given the chance to do the intensive pilot-training course through the charity Flying Scholarships for the Disabled.

He was chosen after a selection process for disabled would-be pilots at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire.

It was good to have a routine again of getting up, doing the training and the classroom work and homework needed to pass the exams Stephen Clifton

He regularly flies with a friend from Caernarfon airport in Gwynedd but having completed the course he can now pilot the plane.

He said gaining the pilots' licence "was a great personal achievement".

"I have been ill for many years and the course made me feel better in myself," he said.

"Because of my illness I have not worked for many years and it was good to have a routine again of getting up, doing the training and the classroom work and homework needed to pass the exams.

"I put in a lot of effort and it paid off. I passed everything first time."

Flying Scholarships for the Disabled was set up in memory of the World War II fighter pilot Sir Douglas Bader who flew despite losing both his legs.

The charity has trained almost 300 people since it was set up in 1983.

Mr Clifton will be presented with his wings at a special ceremony at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford in Gloucestershire on Sunday.