Olympic hero Beth officially opens £27m Lilleshall rehab centre
Olympic hero Beth Tweddle this afternoon opened a new £27m rehabilitation centre for wounded servicemen and women in Shropshire – and paid tribute to their 'amazing bravery'.
The 27-year-old gymnast, who won bronze at the London games, was a guest at the Royal British Legion's Battle Back Centre at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, near Newport.
Injured servicemen spend five days at the centre taking part in sport to improve their physical and mental health.
The centre was formally opened today but has coached more than 200 people since its launch last year.
Beth, who trained at Lilleshall since she was eight, said she was delighted to see the centre up and running.
She said: "It's an amazing opportunity for these guys. They are putting their lives at risk for us and the fact that we can give them something back when they get back to the UK is vital.
"Here there are guys and girls who have been through similar situations to each other so they can chat about it without pressure.
"It's not like they are in a counselling session. They can do it while doing sport and hopefully it will bring their confidence back up."
The centre can accommodate up to 24 people on each course with 16 rooms for overnight stays. Activities include wheelchair basketball, archery, climbing, water sports and clay shooting.
Sapper Clive Smith, from Wolverhampton, lost both legs in Afghanistan in 2010.
He said: "Everything is in place here to get the injured back to being as sporty as possible. It's about bringing belief and focus back to people's lives."
