A PROMISING sporting teen-ager, paralysed in a car accident, has pledged to go back to college to study sport this summer.

Jon Robert Collingwood, 17, was due to sign for Hartlepool United as a youth team goalkeeper when the car in which he was a passenger crashed last June.

Jon Robert lost the use of his legs in the crash, and has been in a wheelchair ever since.

He returned to his parent's home in Byron Avenue, Blackhall, earlier this month after a 12-month stay in hospital.

Hundreds of people donated cash to help Jon's family raise £30,000 so he could return home to their adapted bungalow.

Hartlepool United led the campaign to raise money so the former Wellfield Comprehensive pupil and his family could afford specialist equipment, such as wheelchairs and beds.

Jon Robert, who has movement in his arms and shoulders, now receives daily nursing care at his home, which he shares with parents Janet and Robert and brother Daniel, 15.

Although he will never play football again he has pledged to continue his involvement in sport by returning to college to study in September.