Wheelchair rugby gives sporty Dylan a new lease of life

5 December 2023

A West Mercia Police Federation member who had given up on playing team sports again after suffering a serious leg injury has found a new lease of life with wheelchair rugby.

PC Dylan Darby twisted his knee in falling off a wall while tackling a Tough Mudder obstacle course last year.

The 32-year-old caused himself further damage by running and training on the knee without seeking proper medical advice.

“I iced it and battled through it,” said Dylan, who joined West Mercia Police from West Midlands in July.

“When it felt better I trained on it and went to the gym but basically I caused more damage to myself.

“I didn’t realise how much tissue damage I had in my knee.

“In the end I started getting pins and needles in my leg.

PC Dylan Darby is now playing wheelchair rugby.

“I went to the doctor, they did a nerve conduction study and said the nerves weren’t quite connecting properly to the foot.

“I thought that sounds a bit annoying and carried on running and training.”

Eventually, the training resulted in a severed nerve in his leg which caused a paralysed foot.

It meant that Dylan now can’t feel his foot, and needs to wear a support for it when he’s on duty.

He also thought it meant an end to playing team sports.

“I used to play football when I was younger but stopped when I joined the police,” he said.

“I wanted to get back into team sports but the injury meant I couldn’t play football because I’ve got a floppy foot, and when I wear my orthotic I’ve got a rigid foot.

“So football was out of the window - and in my head team sports were out of the window too.

“The only sport I’d heard of was wheelchair basketball, and I wasn’t interested in that because I can’t throw a basketball to save my life.”

However, a visit to see a friend earlier this year “opened up a whole new world” when Dylan discovered wheelchair rugby.

He said: “My friend is an amputee and plays for a wheelchair rugby team in Berkshire.

“He took me to one of his sessions as he thought I’d enjoy it and it would be good for me to get involved.

“I wasn’t sure but it was the best thing ever.

“I did a three-hour session and loved it. It was awesome and I decided to find a club near me to join.”

Now Dylan is training with the Worcester Warriors Foundation.

“It’s opened up a whole new world that I can play in team sports again and get that competitive side of me back,” said Dylan, who started as a staff custody officer in 2016 with West Midlands Police before becoming an officer in 2017.

“It’s given me a bit of a new lease of life.”

Now Police UK Disability Sport is aiming to raise the money for Dylan’s own rugby wheelchair.

He trains every Wednesday when his shifts allow, but has to use one of the team’s pool chairs, which he says aren’t safe for him to use competitively.

“I just get in a chair and play, but the problem is that the pool chairs are massive,” he explained.

“They’re all the same size so anybody can fit in them.

“It’s fine for messing around in the hall and training but I wouldn’t be able to compete in that chair.

“You can tip over and it doesn’t hug me - I rattle around in it, so it’s not safe.”

Barry Horton, West Mercia Police Federation chair, said: “It’s great to hear that Dylan has been able to discover wheelchair rugby, and to rediscover the benefits of playing team sports.

“Police UK Disability Sport is now working to raise funds for Dylan’s own rugby wheelchair, and any support from the policing family will make real a difference and be gratefully received.”

Police UK Disability Sport supports serving and retired police officers and staff who have been injured, live with physical disability, mental health, or are neurodivergent, by raising funds to purchase custom sports equipment, such as wheelchairs.

Find out more and how to support Police UK Disability Sport here, and on its Facebook page.

Gary Callier, its founder, said: “Together we can change attitudes towards disability and mental health in the police. It is up to us to find unity in diversity through the power of sports recovery.”

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