FROM a send-off on BBC TV’s One Show this week and special filming taking place in his home, the excitement has been rising for an Invictus athlete from Beacon Hill.

Flying out to Toronto on Thursday for a week of sporting competition, Kirk Hughes, from Eight Acres, who competes in hand cycling, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis is being cheered on by his wife Diana and children Izzy, 13, and Bobby, 11.

While he is hoping to bring back some medals Kirk said this week “just the experience is going to be enough for me.”

Kirk (pictured), who was medically discharged from the Royal Navy in 2002, was left with life-changing injuries after contracting meningitis in 2000.

But after years of putting his life back together and training hard, Kirk has joined 550 wounded servicemen and women from 17 allied nations in the third Invictus Games.

“I just think it is fantastic and a brilliant way to shine the light on wounded servicemen and veterans – they aren’t just people who sit around and do nothing – and I’d love to come back with some medals,” said Kirk.