Adrian Derbyshire

Adrian (pictured right) is a true inspiration. He has taken to wheelchair fencing like a duck to water since having his first try at the sport last September.

The 36-year-old was a gold medal winner at wheelchair fencing within only two months and has gone on to be crowned a national champion.

Competing internationally this year, Great Britain number one Adrian has claimed three gold medals and two silvers and is set to be one of GB’s key fencers in the 2012 Paralympics in London.

Adrian was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 2008 following a haemorrhage.

This led to chemical meningitis and left him in a wheelchair. He has recently been inducted into the Olympic Association and has been featured on Channel 4’s That Paralympic Show.

Steve Deakin

Steve Deakin MBE continued to make big waves among the disabled swimming community this year.

The Great Sankey ace built on captaining Great Britain to 86 gold medal wins in the Australia tour by taking a team of nine swimmers to Bath, in his role as the Royal Liverpool Transplant sports team manager, for the 33rd British Transplant Games.

The team won a whopping 27 medals in total, eight gold, 12 silver and seven bronze.

Steve was born with spina bifida. He later suffered from renal failure and had to have both of his legs amputated and undergo two kidney transplants.

Steve, who lives in Great Sankey, first took part in the British Transplant Games in 1990, winning a bronze medal in the 50 metres butterfly.

He has gone on to win many more swimming medals, including numerous golds.

Stuart McNeil

Stuart lets nothing get in the way of his passion for basketball coaching and is certainly someone to admire.

Despite being a wheelchair user and having other limitations, he coaches several junior national league teams and leads several weekly voluntary community sessions.

He coaches the University of Chester and the Warrington Collegiate basketball teams as well as the Cheshire Junior Jets. Stuart is also a national league match official and has recently completed a foundation degree in sport.

The double amputee always has a positive attitude and an extremely high commitment level, and has helped many young volunteers to engage in sessions to improve their basketball skills.