A MAN who learned to walk again after being left paralysed in a paragliding accident, has been inspired to build fully accessible holiday homes on land at his Powys home.

Richard Offor, 57, admitted he “should have died” when he fell 500 feet from the sky in June 2009 while paragliding in the French Alps.

Richard was caught in a downdraft, crash landing on to trees, rocks and boulders. After more than a week in a Grenoble hospital he returned home for care and was told by doctors at Gobowen’s Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital he’d be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Yet six months later medics were gobsmacked when he walked through the doors unaided.

County Times: Richard Offor, 57, admitted he “should have died” when he fell 500 feet from the sky in June 2009 while paragliding in the French Alps. Richard Offor, 57, admitted he “should have died” when he fell 500 feet from the sky in June 2009 while paragliding in the French Alps. (Image: Mid Wales Lodges)

“I did what I could to save myself; I should have died,” said Richard, a thrill seeker who had been flying for 20 years and loved parachuting, free climbing, hand gliding and skiing.

“They moved me while on a spinal board and that left me paralysed. I had emergency surgery that night.

“I was in hospital on a high-dependency unit for week-and-a-half then they sent me to Hereford and then Gobowen.

“I was given a prognosis of basically never getting better and I would be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.

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“But I told the doctors I would get better. I would get up in the morning and exercise several times a day and within six months I basically learnt to walk again.

“Around February or March 2010 I walked back into the hospital unaided. I can’t run anymore but I can walk. I’m always in pain, a lot of my body doesn’t work properly, but I do what I can.”

Richard took a life-altering experience that would have broken most people, and used it as inspiration.

He and wife Helen, horticulturists who sell around 200,000 plants commercially a year, looked into building holiday accommodation on land at their Powys home, near Nantglas, between Llandrindod Wells and Rhayader.

The new venture is called Mid Wales Lodges; three fully accessible units offering stunning views of the local countryside.

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In 2022 Richard and Helen welcomed their first visitors to Hawthorn Lodge, followed soon after by Lime Lodge, in 2023. Oak Lodge is due to open later this year.

“We came up with the idea in 2016 of building the holiday units,” said Richard, who wanted people with mobility issues to be at the forefront of the planning process, rather than an afterthought.

“We approached Powys County Council and said we wanted to build lodges for disabled people. They said ‘get them up’. It took six years and £500,000 of our own money.

“Everything’s flat throughout. There are no steps anywhere on site, it’s all level or gentle ramps. Everything’s built for complete accessibility.

“They’ve been purposely built for wheelchairs and disabled people, not as an afterthought.

“We were given a five-star rating by Visit Wales. The lady who came to grade us said she would have given us six stars if she could.

“We’ve been told by many they’re some of the most impressive things they’ve ever seen.”

Richard added: “We wanted to let people know there is this sort of accommodation around.

“There’s 8 million disabled people in the UK, 90 per cent of whom have mobility issues. There’s a desperate shortage of fully accessible accommodation.”

To find out more, visit the website at https://midwaleslodges.co.uk/, call 01597 811512, email info@midwaleslodges.co.uk or visit the Mid Wales Lodges’ social media pages.