Stratton pub regulars back RAF star (From Thisisdorset)

Stratton pub regulars back RAF star

8:53am Wednesday 5th August 2009 in

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BIG-hearted regulars at a West Dorset pub have thrown their support behind the landlord’s son-in-law after he was seriously injured in a parachute accident.

Rod Lamont, 52, the landlord of The Saxon Arms, has been overwhelmed by the generosity shown by drinkers and diners at his Stratton pub towards a charity cycle ride by Sgt Richard Cross.

Sgt Cross, 36, is getting on his bike to raise money for Help For Heroes and the hospitals who treated him for nearly four months after a life-threatening accident at Eastbourne’s Airbourne show in 2007. He was injured when he crash-landed after being caught in high winds and hurled towards the ground.

Mr Lamont said: “We’ve raised several hundreds of pounds just by leaving leaflets with details of Richard’s cycle ride on the table. People have been so generous.

“Last night, a gentleman from Kenya who had been dining with us put £50 in the collection pot. The response has been amazing. “Rich is a lovely chap. He’s an animal fanatic. If he found an injured mouse, he would take it home and look after it. He’s a very caring bloke, and loves sport. I couldn’t wish for a better son-in-law,” he added.

His daughter, Gemma Cross, 25, who was born and grew up in Dorset, said the last two years had been a tough time, but had shown her husband at his best.

She said: “After an accident like Richard’s, most people would concentrate on getting better. But his priority has been to give something back to the people who helped him.

“That’s just the kind of bloke he is.”

Sgt Cross will set off from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on August 11, arriving four days and 160 miles later at this year’s Eastbourne air show – almost two years to the day since his accident. He said: “I chose Help for Heroes after I’d seen the support they give to guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan at the Headley Court military rehabilitation unit of the John Radcliffe Hospital.

“It’s the best place in the world for realising there are people worse off than you,” Sgt Cross told the Dorset Echo.

“I’m also supporting Eastbourne District Hospital, who pretty much kept me alive in the four months after my accident,” he added.

An inspiring attitude has helped the fitness instructor cope with injuries that have left him in constant pain from an ankle injury, with permanent double vision, and almost total deafness in his right ear.

“You can sit around wallowing in your misery and asking why this has happened, or you can physically get off your backside and do something about it. I chose the latter,” said Sgt Cross.

To support Sgt Cross, visit richsbikeride.moonfruit.com