A DISABLED man who is appealing for help to buy a special wheelchair that will help him realise his dream has been blown away by the public’s response since a report in the Free Press.

Dan Sully, 35, of Minehead, wants to show his four miniature breed Dexter cows at Dunster Show this year, but the wheelchair he was using to visit and train them in their field broke down six months ago.

Now Dan is crowdfunding to try to buy a 4x4 wheelchair at cost price – and following a story in last week’s Free Press, donations had jumped from double figures to £1,260 by yesterday morning (Thursday).

It means Dan and his mother Chrissy Beaver have now been able to put down a deposit to secure the wheelchair, and are a third of the way to the £3,500 target.

Chrissy said the donations and encouragement had been “mind blowing”.

“Dan is just buzzing. He and I would like to thank everyone who donated, and for their lovely comments and encouragement.

“I keep brushing away tears. I feel very humbled – we could never have believed the compassion out there.”

Dan, who has been severely disabled since birth with athetoid cerebral palsy, is wheelchair bound, requires 24-hour care, and can only speak through a specially programmed machine.

Since childhood, he has loved spending time with animals on the farm his grandfather rented, and after his grandfather died, Dan went on to acquire four miniature breed Dexter cows – Honeysuckle, Fern, Jade and Violet.

He visited them regularly with his carer, Hayley, and was training them to walk beside him on a halter, but the outdoor wheelchair he used broke down, and now he can only watch his cows from a car at the bottom of their field.

While at the repairers in Exeter, he came across a special 4x4 wheelchair, which the company was able to let him have at cost rather than the normal £10,000.

Chrissy, who has fundraised to afford equipment for Dan all his life, was unable to afford the £3,500 though, and Dan began crowdfunding for help, at the suggestion of local advice organisations.

Dan’s mother was told when he was born that he would never achieve anything, but she has worked hard to help him have whatever experiences he can and get whatever extra equipment he has needed, and this is the first time the family has ever sought external help.

To contribute to Dan’s fund, visit justgiving.com and search for Dan Sully.