A Harlequins legend is cycling nearly 65 miles to raise £10,000 for a old team-mate who was paralysed in a accident last year.

Paul Curtis, 57, was involved in a “life-changing” mountain bike accident last September that has left him bed-ridden at University Wales Hospital in Cardiff where he remains paralysed from the chest down.

The crowdfunding page says: “Paul has recovered from a number of major medical issues during this time and is now able to eat food for himself instead of being fed through a tube.

“[He] can breathe on his own with no assistance despite the loss of use of part of his right lung and diaphragm.

“He is hoping to move to a spinal rehabilitation centre in the very near future in order to continue his journey.”

Paul, known as Curto during his playing days, has a “long and difficult” road ahead of him but is striving to accompany his daughter down the aisle when she gets married in October.

Peloton for Curto aims to adapt his home before he arrives from hospital, but the adaptations are said to be very expensive.

Peter Winterbottom, who played flanker for Quins from 1988 to 1993 and made 58 appearances for England, will ride from Curtis’ old club Bognor Regis to the Twickenham Stoop to fundraise for through the Matt Hampson Foundation.

He said: “The fact that everybody has rallied round, I think, is testament to the character he is.

“He was an incredibly loyal team-mate, a 100 per cent player, always put himself out there for people and I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re all rallying round because he was such a top bloke.

“It’s nice that everybody in the club, and not just the guys that he played with and the people that were around when he played but also the club more than 20 years later, is supporting one of their former players.”

Harlequins have joined the campaign and people who join the bike ride will be given free tickets to the game that day against Gloucester Rugby on September 9.

Curtis was a prop in his time for Quins, from 1985 to 1990, before playing for Bognor Regis and Rosslyn Park in his rugby union career.

The crowdfunding is part of an overarching £100,000 fundraising campaign started two months ago, with leftover funds going into a trust to support any further expenses that Paul may require.

At the time of publishing, it has so far raised £6,740.

To donate, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/matthampsonfoundation/pelotonforcurto or https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/PaulCurtis59

For more information, email: callum@hambo.co.uk