Man with spinal condition heaves vehicle along prom

Kevin Harmer, 42, of Gorse Avenue, Worthing, attached the half-tonne car to his wheelchair and pulled it along Worthing seafront from the Lido to the Denton Lounge. He raised more than £100 on the day for The Smiles Foundation, which helps needy children in Romania.

Mr Harmer said: “It went really well, although it was quite tiring towards the end because there was a slight upslope.

“I have received a lot of financial help from charities and organisations over the years due to my disability, so I wanted to give something back to a really good cause.”

Mr Harmer, who attends Offington Park Methodist Church, was with friends at a breakfast club meeting at Shoreham Airport’s café one Saturday, when the car-pull idea was first mentioned.

He decided he wanted to do something for charity and suggested the car pull, as one of the friends owned the vintage vehicle. He said: “We went to see the car and got it out of the garage to see if I could pull it and after a couple of tries, I could.

“We used to watch the World’s Strongest Man on TV, where they did something similar, and I thought I could pull it along the seafront.”

The group enlisted the help of Worthing town crier Bob Smytherman, deputy mayor Michael Donin and the church to draw a crowd on the day and raise the profile of the event.

Mr Harmer said despite suffering from spinal condition spina bifida, the event did not endanger his back. He said: “Although I had to be careful, much of the weight of the car was taken by the wheelchair and I used my upper body strength to pull myself along.”

Mr Harmer also suffers from hydrocephalus, a condition which causes a build up of fluid on the brain, which increases the pressure put on it. For more information about Smiles and how to donate, visit the charity’s website: www.thesmilesfoundation.org