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Stars launch Chris' house of new hope

Ailsa Cranna
13/ 3/2008

THE final bricks have been laid in the home that will give disabled rugby player Chris McGuirk the independence he thought had been cruelly denied him.

When Chris was paralysed after breaking his neck playing rugby for De La Salle RU Club in December 2005 the future looked extremely bleak for the former bricklayer.

Now, just over three years later he is looking forward to building a new future in a custom-built house, funded by his friends, top sporting personalities and people he has never met but who rallied to the cause.

This week, Chris, now 23, met some of the sports legends who helped raise the profile of his cause as he viewed the house on Prestwood Road, Claremont that will be his new home.

Chris, who lives temporarily in a specially-adapted flat on Eccles Old Road, Hope, got to say a personal thankyou to stars such as Ryan Giggs, boxers Jamie Moore, Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton and Salford Reds players Karl Fitzpatrick and Malc Alker, as well as Sale Sharks Steve Hanley and former Manchester City boss Peter Reid.

He said: "These are people who are my sporting heroes and many of them come from Salford and were instrumental in raising funds for the conversion of the house.

"I just wanted to show them how they had helped and thank them for their support. It has been truly inspirational.

"I also wanted to say thank-you to the people of Salford and all the builders, such as Travis Perkins, and chairman of the fundraising campaign John Camilleri who have stuck by me over the last three years.

"They too have lifted me and I can look forward to the future in a way that I wouldn’t have thought was possible after my accident.

"Thankyou everybody, you don’t know how much your support has kept me going." Chris hopes to move in by the summer, when the fittings are completed.

Now that the shell of the house is complete, work will start on fitting the property out with electrics and heating and .

Former United captain Ryan Giggs, who came from his home in Worsley to see the progress of the house, said: "A lot of people have got involved to help Chris and I just wanted to help out as much as I could.

"He’s a great lad, and he’s been very brave.

"Everyone has pulled together and made a massive difference."

Steve Hanley, from Sale Sharks, added: "I was contacted by John Camilleri - a difficult man to say no to - and came down with a whole load of Sale Sharks stuff that can be auctioned off for Chris’s campaign.

"I’ve had a couple of friends who have suffered similar injuries to Chris and his story touched me deeply.

"But when I met him, I was deeply impressed with how upbeat he was, he appears to have come to terms with his disabilities and is preparing to face the future with the kind of courage I could only hope to have a small part of."

Click on the video window for Channel M's report ...

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