A former shop manager and baker who struggles to walk ten yards will be skydiving from 10,000 feet on Sunday to raise cash for the charity which helped him.

Richard Holder, 47, of Sherborne, received the devastating news he had multiple sclerosis two days before his 40th birthday. It was particularly bitter news as he had given up a well-paid job as store manager for Tesco fairly recently and gone to work for a small bakery.

He found himself quickly unable to work as he couldn’t stand for long and any physical work was impossible.

But Richard wouldn’t be beaten, and in the last few years he has pushed himself to complete a series of challenges, raising between £15,000 and £16,000 for the MS Society and MS Trust. This Sunday he will be skydiving near Salisbury. He has already raised more than £2,300 for the MS Society, despite a fairly modest target of £450 – and he would love to raise more.

He said: “I thought I was suffering from an old rugby injury at the time I was diagnosed. I was trying to build up to run a marathon, but I kept tripping over on the flattest surfaces.

“My GP sent me to an osteopath, but a couple of months later there was no change and I was referred to a neurologist. I went through months and months of tests – MRI, blood tests, acupuncture… I was MoTed twice over. Then I had a meeting in hospital and the neurologist said if I was a betting man I’d say you had MS.”

“It was a shock. My wife and I left the appointment and went straight into a bar and grabbed a drink. We’ve never known anyone who had it, so we had to do a lot of research.”

Having come to terms with his diagnosis, Richard launched himself into a series of challenges. He pushed himself in his wheelchair for a mile, did a tandem bike ride with his friend Billy Beaumont, and run a raffle.

He said: “The MS Society have been brilliant. I’m quite looking forward to the skydive. I might feel different on the day of course.”

To sponsor Richard, go to virginmoneygiving.co.uk and search for Richard Holder.

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