Tributes have been paid to paralysed sailor Andrew Farrow from Devizes who has died.

Father of two Mr Farrow, 48, died at home on July 7.

Mr Farrow suffered a spinal cord injury after he fell out of a tree eight years ago.

He became a sailor and thanks to a grant from the Southern Spinal Injuries Trust (SSIT) he bought a boat and last year competed against some of the world’s top sailors at the International 2.4 metre class World Championship in Poole.

A statement on SSIT’s website says: “Andrew was a wonderfully gifted man who we came to know as a beneficiary of our grant programme.

"SSIT helped fund the purchase of his boat and Andrew did so much to spread awareness of our grants to others.

"It was a real pleasure working with him and following his journey through sailing.

“He wrote a beautiful and, at times, painfully raw blog about sailing and the difficulties faced by those with a spinal cord injury. It was clear that sailing was everything to him: “Sailing is joy,” he said, “It’s changed my life.”

He was sponsored by Walter Rose & Son butchers in Devizes and butcher Jack Cook said: “It was gutting to hear that Andrew had passed away. He was a great, all round guy and will be sorely missed.

"He was a very honest and caring guy and very loyal to us. He became a friend and we met up for a beer.

“Sailing was a sport he took up and within six months he qualified for the World Championships. I went to Poole where he was competing in the World Championship and spent time on a boat watching him, it was good fun.”

Mr Farrow, who formerly owned and ran The Toy Tree in Old Swan Yard, told the Gazette last year: "Sailing is one of the few sports that disabled people can take part in alongside able-bodied people. It’s opened up a whole new world for me.”

Mr Farrow’s funeral service is tomorrow at Salisbury Crematorium at 4pm.