Tom Baines was left paralysed in a car accident in 2008

Nearly three years ago Shropshire youngster Tom Baines’s life changed forever after he was involved in a horrific car smash.

Travelling through the village of Babbinswood near Oswestry, the car he was in was involved in a collision with a stationary vehicle.

Tom, at the tender age of just five, suffered extensive injuries to his spine in the January 2008 tragedy. The injuries sustained were so severe that the youngster was left paralysed from the chest down.

But brave Tom, now aged eight and a pupil at Packwood Haugh School in Ruyton-XI-Towns, has refused to stop his injuries from allowing him to lead a fulfilling life and inspire others with his confident attitude.

That inspirational outlook on life will be celebrated when a special presentation takes place at his school on Monday when he will receive a prestigious national award in recognition of the way he has coped with the severe spinal injury.

The award will be made by the Back Up Trust charity during a special assembly at the school.

Staff at the school have commended Tom’s positive attitude, saying it is well deserved.

Packwood headmaster, Nigel Westlake, said: “Tom is a bright, confident, happy child who in no way allows his disability to impede him.

“His positive attitude is one of the reasons why he has been named by the charity, Back Up Trust, as The James Beckwith Young Inspirational Person of the Year”.

Back Up Trust’s schools co-ordinator Amanda Brooke also paid tribute to young Tom.

She said: “He has faced a great many challenges along the way but he has tackled these with such confidence and a level of maturity not often seen in many eight year olds.”

The award celebrates the outstanding achievements of an inspirational young person who has developed as an individual as a result of their involvement with the charity.

The Back Up Trust supports people affected by spinal cord injury, of which there are more than 40,000 in the UK, most of whom use wheelchairs.

Nurse Marianne Henderson who was on a Back Up course with Tom earlier this year remarked: “It was great to see him again and see how much his confidence had grown.

“He’s so much more independent than he was last year.”

Back Up’s aim is to help these people transform their lives and realise their potential following such a life-changing injury.

The courses and activities the charity runs encourage independence, self-confidence and motivation.