LONDON: I was blinded by mindless yobs

I was blinded by mindless yobs

Out of sight ... Jay's faced his demons

AFTER a couple of seconds Jay Beckford finally identified the muffled sound getting closer and closer.

It was heavy footfalls, breaking the silence as he waited for the bell to ring outside his little sister’s school gate.

Suddenly 20 yobs flew round the corner into the street, and before Jay knew what was happening, they were on top of him, unleashing a wave of punches and kicks.

Mercifully, minutes later several teachers managed to pull Jay clear of the vicious thugs who had launched the sickening attack.

But due to several blows to the head it was too late to save his eyesight.

For Jay, a promising 16-year-old footballer with dreams of stardom playing in the Crystal Palace youth team, a living nightmare had begun.

Jay, now 27, recalls: �It was terrifying when I woke up in hospital and couldn’t see out of my left eye.

�For the next couple of days they did tests and brain scans to find out what was wrong.

�They discovered the left retina had detached during the brawl.

�The people who attacked me used to pick on me when I was younger.

"But on that occasion, for whatever reason, they went too far."

‘ all I could see was darkness ’

Desperate to save Jay’s sight, doctors operated to push the retina back into place and forced him to wear a patch for a week.

Jay says: �I’ll never forget going to have the patch removed.

�I was praying, ‘Please, please, please, let it be OK.’

�The patch came off and nothing happened. All I could see was darkness on the left, and I had partial vision on the right.

�I didn’t break down and cry, but my mind was reeling.

�All my hopes and aspirations for a career in soccer were dashed.

�In a matter of days my life crumbled.�

Jay grew up in Streatham, South London, which he says was "pretty tough" for a teenager - but was living and studying in Sevenoaks at the time he was set upon, and just visiting London for the day.

Ever since he was a tot Jay loved kicking a football and enjoyed watching his beloved Liverpool team on TV.

Looking back Jay believes sport provided him with an escape from the neighbourhood, where drugs and crime were commonplace.

And when he landed a place in the Crystal Palace Youth side at just 14-years-old, he remembers it being one of the happiest days of his life.

�It was such an exciting time," he says. �A man came to school and watched me play. Afterwards he said he was very impressed and asked me to come down for training.

�I loved every minute of it. We had fitness on Tuesday and ball skills on Thursday.

�We’d go along to watch Crystal Palace play at the weekend. I was living the dream.

�But the bubble burst when I couldn’t see the ball anymore.�

Cup winners ... Jay (front left) with Chelsea Community FC

Without his greatest passion, Jay lost interest in his college course, his friends and life in general.

It wasn’t long before he turned to alcohol and drugs for comfort and he soon spiralled out of control.

Jay says: �I had some vision in my right eye, but not enough to remain in mainstream football.

�I didn’t finish my studies and I began smoking cannabis and drinking in the pub nearly everyday.

�It was so hard to come to terms with the change in my life. Everything became a challenge.

�I fell in with the wrong crowd and eventually got into a bad fight in a pub.

�I got scared and moved back to London to live with my sister Kelly-Marie.

�My lust for life had disappeared. I was just existing and didn’t know what to do with myself.�

It was a routine eye check-up at Guy’s Hospital in London that helped turn Jay’s life around.

At his wit’s end, he began pouring his heart out to a concerned staff member.

She told him to contact Action for Blind People, an organisation providing support to the visually impaired.

Jay says: �I’d never even heard of the scheme before.

�They arranged a meeting with me and I applied to move into an AFBP house called Bradbury Oak in East Dulwich.

�Thankfully I got accepted and that’s where I’ve been for the past six years.

�It took me a while to settle but within twelve months I’d found my feet and was ready for a challenge

hat challenge was to get back on the football pitch.

‘ I felt like I was back where I belonged ’

Although Jay’s days at Crystal Palace were long over, he’d heard about a disabled team in Chelsea and made a few enquiries.

Jay says: �I went along to play for Chelsea Community FC and you’ve no idea how good it felt to be practising again.

�The other people around me were disabled too, so I didn’t feel paranoid.

�In my very first season we reached the league final at Stamford Bridge and won the Disabled Cup.

�It felt like I was back where I belonged.�

Not content with just playing football in his spare time, Jay now intends to make a career as a coach.

He recently completed the FA’s Level One Coaching certificate – the only disabled person to do so – and is also studying for an Access course in Maths and English.

Jays says: �I know I’ll never be a professional football, but through this job I might help someone else achieve their dream.

�That’s something very special.

�With coaching I can give so much back to kids who want to learn about soccer.

�If only the lads who caused my blindness could see me now.�

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/article330660.ece