A DOUBLE amputee who completed the “hardest challenge he has ever faced” says it was all worthwhile so others like him can be provided with vital support.

Tony Smith, 57, was a landscape gardener and a keen walker before he had both of his legs amputated above the knee last year.

He was born and brought up in Faifley, but now lives in Drumchapel, where he walked the length of his street 2.6 times in his prosthetics and raised more than £1,600 for Finding Your Feet charity.

Tony, who used a wheelchair until recently, told the Post: “It was sore, and it was tiring, but with the amount of money I’ve raised it’s been worthwhile.

“The most I’ve walked before was about 10 metres, and the walk was 260. It took me about 45 minutes.

“It seemed a great idea at the time – but I never realised how long the street actually was.

“I’ve walked it hundreds of times before and it only takes minutes but it’s a different story when you’re on stubbies.

“This was the first time I’d been outside on roads or pavement.

“Every step I took I thought of someone who donated so that I kept going.

“I used to walk for miles. I’ve completed 30-odd Munros and always used to walk down to Old Kilpatrick from Faifley, so all that has changed. But that’s not to say I won’t get back to it in the future.”

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After Tony’s first leg was amputated in April 2019 due to vascular disease, volunteers from Finding Your Feet visited him. His second leg was amputated in June.

Tony said: “Life was very difficult to start off with, but the volunteers spoke to me about what it was going to be like from then on.

“They supplied taxis to take me to amputees’ coffee mornings, and paid for taxis to take me to a gym twice a week for an hour-long fitness session.

“They treat everyone the same. Nobody’s different, whether you’ve got one leg, no legs or one arm. And they’re not just there for the amputees, they’re there to offer emotional support to the whole family.

“Boredom as an amputee is the biggest enemy, and the other one is isolation. But through the charity I got to speak to fellow amputees. I’ve met lots of friends – far too many to mention.

“They bring you out of the isolation and literally help you find your feet back in society.”

A total of £1,605 has been raised for the charity, thanks to Tony’s determination in completing the walk. And despite not being able to walk any real distance the following days, Tony was still “buzzin’”.

He said: “I’m still buzzin’ from it – it’s exciting because I’ve raised so much money to help the charity – they provided so much help to me when I wasn’t in a position to help myself and now I’m back in a position that I can help others.

“I keep looking at the page and thinking ‘is that my total?’.

“It’s shown me I’ve got a lot of support – emotional and financial.

“Damien McGovern, my physiotherapist, had to fight really hard to get me the stubbies, so I owe it all to him.

“Not many civilians receive them because they’re so hard to get used to – but his faith in me was well worth it.”

The former gardener still makes use of his skills in his own garden which has kept him busy during the lockdown.

Tony joked: “I have been planting so that has kept me sane. It keeps me out of my wife’s hair for a bit. She can’t get under my feet but I certainly get under hers.”