Martyn Ashton's crowdfunding raises £29,000 in 24 hours to pay for rehabilitation

Having been talked out of selling his £7,000 bike, Martyn Ashton 'reluctantly' set up a crowdfunding page and has raised over £38,000

Paralysed trials bike rider Martyn Ashton 'reluctantly' set up a crowdfunding page to raise money to support his rehabilitation and was stunned to raise £29,000 in the first 24-hours.

He aimed to raise £7,000 by selling his Colnago C59 but was talked out of it by his friends, who urged him to set up a page on GoFundMe instead.

The response was phenomenal, with £38,000 raised by 11am on Monday morning, with over 2,500 people donating to the cause.

"It is fabulous and at this time of year it has a real Christmas feel. I'm a very lucky guy," Ashton, star of the Road Bike Party videos, told the BBC.

Since an accident at a live show left him paralysed he has been receiving care from the NHS, but Ashton says he wants to buy equipment to care for himself and adapt his house.

Ashton told the BBC that he has yet to decide what to spend the money on, but previously said he wants to buy a hand bike or physiotherapy equipment to enable him to keep fit in 2016.

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Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.