A Hampshire-based ex-serviceman won the Para-Powerlifting European Open Championships today.

Micky Yule, who is based in Park Gate, Southampton, completed three successful lifts with a best of 193kg in Eger, Hungary.

The former Staff Sergeant, who served with the Royal Engineers, lost both legs above the knee when he stepped on an IED in Helmand Province.

Micky was a part of the Army powerlifting team pre-injury, and has used the sport as a huge part of his rehabilitation and recovery, culminating in a fourth place at the Commonwealth Games and gold at the Invictus Games last year.

He is supported by Help for Heroes’ partnership with British Weightlifting and the British Paralympic Association to introduce military personnel and veterans to Paralympic Sport.

Jayne Kavanagh, who heads up Help for Heroes’ Paralympic pathway added: “This is a fantastic result for Micky ahead of the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016.

"Sport is a huge part of the recovery journey for an individual, providing a sense of purpose to achieve. "Micky has a huge amount of talent, we’re delighted to support him and we can’t wait to see him progress even further.”

Featuring around 150 athletes from 25 countries, the event was organised locally by the Hungarian National Paralympic Committee and took place in the Hotel Eger & Park.

Micky is sponsored by Alliance Trust and EDF Energy.

Help for Heroes has been involved with Sports Recovery since 2008, and in the past year alone have put on 300 events across 50 different sports enabling over 2,100 wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans to take part in adaptive sports from grassroots through to performance level.