A MAN from Burnham-on-Sea who lost both of his legs at birth is embarking on an ambitious fundraising mission.

Toby French, 28, who currently lives in Highbridge, is aiming to raise £14,000 in order to buy two running blades to enable him to carry out charity runs.

Mr French, whose legs are both amputated below the knee, has recently been inspired by fitness and wants to put his new-found passion to good use.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," he said.

"My wife got me a personal trainer for Christmas, it's given me the push to do it.

"I'm feeling super motivated."

"I have been trying to get active for a long time on the legs I have at the moment but these are holding me back when it comes to running."

The blades, which cost £7,000 each, will enable Mr French to run much easier. The blades allow the runner to push off easier and they absorb more of the impact.

The first event on his list of challenges is to tackle the Bristol 5km Tough Mudder run in May.

He's recently completed a practice run where he managed to clock in at 48 minutes. He hopes to slowly get his time down.

Mr French said it is unknown why he is an amputee, as there is no underlying reason they have discovered. He added that his twin sister was born "normal".

The keen runner, who works in security, is known by his friends as 'Toby no legs', as he says it is better to laugh at his situation than to cry about it.

He said: "I'm definitely used to it now, but it was different when I was younger, but I've just got on with it.

"I've always been really active, except when I was a lazy teen."

Mr French hopes, that with the help of these blades, he can complete fundraising runs to aid Care of Police survivors, a charity that helps families of police officers who have lost their lives on duty.

To donate to Toby's cause visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tobynolegs