IT was not enough for Colin Javens to fight fate against the odds and win - now he wants to take on the world.

Colin, of Moreton-on-Lugg, who has battled back from near total paralysis, is hitting out at a medical system he says spends nothing on spinal research and very little on rehabilitation.

"Most of what I have done, aside from pure guts and dedication, has cost my family dear," he said.

Now Colin wants to drive his point home - literally - behind the wheel of the specially adapted 4x4 taking him back to his roots.

Kenya-born Colin aims to cross Africa from Sahara to the Cape with as many sponsors as he can get on board. Their cash will go to Spinal Research, the UK-based charity dedicated to the repair of damaged spinal cords.

The Hereford Times has told Colin's story from the start - how a sporty 21-year-old who liked life on the rugged side leapt into the sea to do a total stranger a good deed and shattered his spine.

Four years ago they called Colin tetraplegic - near total paralysis from the neck down - and something as simple as feeding himself would be a triumph.

Colin mastered this, though, and much more, counting completion of a college degree and even re-passing a driving test among his achievements since.

But those four years fuelled Colin's anger at 'the system'.

"Modern England spends nothing on spinal research and very little on rehabilitation, so now I want to tell the world, put the spotlight on it and just possibly make a difference - for all those who will suffer similar injuries and won't be helped without funding," he said.

According to Colin's statistics, around 1,000 people, with an average age of about 20, suffer spinal injuries in the UK each year.

Spinal Research funds doctors and scientists around the world as they work on recovery options. Colin says recent successes in the laboratory are leading toward clinical trials of new treatments for paralysis.

Colin has set himself a £100,000 target that, even with his determination, he admits is a stretch.

The web site www.Drivinghome.co.uk details the journey ahead and how he, and the friends going with him, can be helped during its estimated six months.

"Ten years ago an undertaking like this would have been impossible. Today we believe it can be done," said Colin.