A student from Bradford has raised more than £15,000 to pay for a new wheelchair to enable him to carry on his university studies.

Adeel Amjad, 21 from Bradford was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy when he was 15 years old, but due to the degenerative nature of his condition, he now needs a motorised wheelchair to allow him to carry on his bio-medical genetics degree.

The chair will allow him to stand at the science labs, and also give him his independence back, as his standard chair means he needs two or three people to take him to the toilet.

Adeel’s mum, Saima Nazir, said: “His goal in life is to go to university and find a cure and fix himself and others in the same situation because currently there is no cure for this condition, there is no cure and there is no medication. If he didn’t get this chair nothing would be possible”

Saima added that Adeel was fine using crutches during his first year of university but ‘his condition is deteriorating so after lockdown and when he was going back to uni he couldn’t have walked around the same.’

“He couldn’t have gone to uni without this chair because he can't get on and off the seating, uni was coming closer and he was getting stressed, so my friends encouraged me to set up the fundraiser. I don’t usually ask for anything and I was surprised Adeel let me set it up.”

More than £15,000 was raised on the Go Fund Me page in less than a month, Saima said.

She added: I’m absolutely surprised at how much has been raised, people have been helping by doing car washes and things like that. I didn’t think we would be able to raise that amount of money, I’m really shocked.

“We’re both so grateful, this is a massive step for him, this wheelchair will set him for life and make him really independent because he won't have to rely on me or anyone else.”

Saima added that the condition can affect anyone and Adeel was “was absolutely fine”, he started walking at an “early age”, there was nothing wrong with him and then at the age of 15 after a year he got a diagnosis.”

“You can be fine and then all of a sudden you’ve got this problem”

Adeel is due to get the measurements for his new chair at the end of this month to allow him to carry on his third year of studies at The University of Huddersfield.

To donate click: https://uk.gofundme.com/f/help-adeel-with-uni-by-funding-wheelchair