Paralysed at 15 by a 'clash of heads' tackle

Ciaran Pryce's dreams of playing at national level were cut short at the age of just 15 following an on-pitch accident in October 2007.

The teenager, above, who had been playing for Cathkin High School, Cambuslang, was paralysed from the neck down following what he later described as "just a clash of heads, a bad tackle" in the closing minutes of a game against Kilmarnock.

He was rushed to Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock, where an X-ray confirmed that his cervical spine was broken.

The accident left him tetraplegic - paralysed from the neck down, with only limited movement of his upper limbs.

For the next nine-and-a-half months, Ciaran was a patient at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow.

Despite intial fears that he might not regain the use of his arms, two months after the accident, he was able to use them to move his wheelchair.

The Ciaran Pryce Appeal was set up to raise money for his long-term needs.

In recent years , a number of young rugby players and their families have endured similar ordeals and Ciaran's case was one of a number that prompted the Scottish Government last year to establish an inquiry into the number of young people suffering spinal injuries.