Proceeds of a tag rugby match in Keighley this month will enable a Silsden teenager to spend more time with his family.

Nathan Cubitt’s family hope to raise enough money to buy a therapeutic chair which will relieve pressure on his body.

This means Nathan can spend more time in the living room doing normal family activities, rather than having to lie alone in his bed.

The armchair is one of a series of adaptations planned by 17-year-old Nathan’s parents, Sue and Matthew, to make his life more comfortable.

Nathan, who broke his neck playing rugby in 2011, spends most of his time in an electric wheelchair.

His parents hope to raise money to buy expensive replacement cushions and make other improvements to the hi-tech wheelchair.

They recently gained planning permission to extend their home to provide Nathan with his own ground-floor bedroom, living room and washing area.

Mrs Cubitt said: “Hopefully his friends will be able to come more often. He’s currently living in the dining room, but it’s not really big enough.”

She has been amazed with the progress Nathan has made since coming home from hospital in spring last year, with the realisation he would never walk again.

She said: “He’s fantastic emotionally. He accepted the situation very quickly. He’s not gone back, he said ‘it’s done and dusted’.

“He’s learning to use his body again. He’s been fantastic, manoeuvering his wheelchair. He’s got quite a lot of initiative to get things done.”

The Nathan Cubitt Trust Tag Rugby event on Sunday, May 26, is a follow-up to the first successful tag rugby tournament last year.

The event, at Keighley Rugby Union Club on Skipton Road, will feature a hog roast, bouncy castle, bungee run, mountain biking displays and stalls.

Rugby Union World Cup winner Jason Robinson and fellow international Henry Paul will be attending to meet rugby fans.

Teams wishing to enter the event, and people willing to donate prizes or help on the day, should e-mail nathantagrugby@gmail.com.