Maidstone’s Bill Wilson says his life changed when he suffered a life-changing fall leaving him paralysed from the chest down five years ago. But not just because he had to learn how to live life in a wheelchair, but also because he decided to pick up competitive shooting.
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00:00 Maidstone shooter Bill Wilson's life hasn't always been this way.
00:04 Becoming a British champion doesn't happen overnight.
00:07 In fact, he only actually picked up shooting after going through rehab
00:11 for a life-changing injury six years ago.
00:14 Sport has always played a huge part in Bill's life,
00:17 from becoming a member of Ashford Rugby Club to a skiing instructor
00:21 and even an advanced motorcyclist riding across the globe.
00:25 All those things came to a very abrupt end on the 1st May 2018
00:29 when I had an unfortunate accident in Holland.
00:32 I fell down some stairs and I was taking my mother out to see the Tulip Festival
00:37 and yes, in the blink of an eyelid, your world's changed.
00:42 Yeah, this is my biggest enemy and also my best friend.
00:47 Now paralysed from the chest down, Bill turned to shooting
00:51 whilst at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
00:53 The secretary there, Damon Hinchcliffe, said,
00:56 'You've got a good eye. When you leave, join a local club,'
01:00 which I did, Tubbs Lake, just outside Cranbrook.
01:03 I really started entering competitions in 2020, 2019, 2020.
01:09 To my tally now, I think I've got 11 gold medals,
01:13 four silvers, three bronze.
01:16 Not wanting to lose track between training sessions,
01:19 Bill quickly set up a fairly unconventional approach to home practice.
01:23 So I'm stood here at the start point for what is Bill's homemade 10-metre range,
01:28 also known as the hallway, and if you follow me through to the kitchen area,
01:33 you can see past the doorway and the edge of the wall here
01:37 is of course sitting at the end of the conservatory, the target.
01:42 It might look like a narrow range, but for a champion
01:45 dealing with margins of less than a millimetre,
01:48 hitting the target is the least of his worries.
01:51 My biggest competitor, actually, when I'm shooting,
01:54 is me. I'm always pushing myself.
01:57 And I think that really is what pushes me, pushes me.
02:01 I like to be the best at it.
02:03 I'll shoot as long as my eyesight lets me.
02:06 So I'm happy. It keeps me motivated, it keeps me focused
02:11 and dealing with, obviously, my disability.
02:14 And as long as I can do it, enjoy it, I will.
02:18 Now with the wind in his sails and more than 10 British medals under his belt,
02:23 the 61-year-old has his sights set on competing around the world.
02:27 Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Maidstone.