A PARALYMPIC archer has given a message of hope to those suffering from a neurological condition to “not give up” and carry on the fight.

Dave Phillips, from Cwmbran, made the appeal to coincide with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Week this week.

Mr Phillips was diagnosed with MS 23 years ago by a doctor, after he noticed one morning that his right leg was numb.

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“I didn’t know what it meant,” he said.

“He said that I had MS so bluntly, and all I could think was, ‘what’s Marks and Spencer got to do with it?’ — that is how little I knew.”

Knowing Mr Phillips was a skilled bowman in his youth, his wife, Angie, persuaded him to try archery once again.

And three years later, he was shooting recurve at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and will shoot at the World Para-archery Championships in June to try to qualify for Tokyo. Mr Phillips also praised the Bioness L300 Go product - a cuff which emits electrical pulses and stimulates muscle - for aiding him in the competitions.

The couple have now become qualified volunteers for MS Society Cymru and is urging those with MS to "stay positive".

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“It wasn’t just me who got diagnosed with MS all those years ago,” he said.

“In a way my whole family was diagnosed with it.

“They have had to be there all the way and go through the same emotional rollercoaster as me, they suffer just as much. Being able to support people with MS, and their families, is really important to us.

“I want to use my platform as a paralympian to say ‘please don’t give up on yourself'.

“You can keep it at bay for longer now, you can still work those muscles. I’m proof you can still have a life, with the right lifestyle, exercise, medication and aids if you need them. You can still achieve, don’t give up hope.”

MS is a debilitating neurological condition which can affect the brain and spinal cord.