A NEWPORT man has spoken of his life with autism and the support of the football community for World Autism Awareness Week.

Luke Degilbert is a member of Newport County’s County in the Community football team – who play under the We Wear the Same Shirt programme - and is a keen member of the Amber Army.

He has been a member since 2017 and has done coaching with the team, an impressive feat for someone who has struggled with injured legs, epilepsy and his autism.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, he would volunteer with County in the Community on match days, helping with the half-time kickabouts and with programmes.

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Throughout his life, Mr Degilbert has had a number of operations on his legs, including having pins in his legs and a cage on them. During the initial lockdown last year, he raised almost £1,000 for the NHS to thank them for all they have done for him and for others by doing football drills in his garden – this saw support from a number of football teams including Leicester City FC.

Unable to play football due to the Covid-19 restrictions, Mr Degilbert has taken to doing football drills in a park.

He is proud of how he has achieved these feats. Mr Degilbert said: “I don’t let my autism hold me back from anything.”