A SOMERSET teenager has spoken of the impact of losing his father in a tragic crash on the M5 near Taunton.

Tom, 16, has been chosen to take part in the first leg of the Rickshaw Challenge for this year's BBC Children in Need with Matt Baker.

Tom's world was turned upside down in September 2018 when the car his parents, Ceri and Rod, were travelling to their NHS jobs in collided with a lorry.

Sadly, Rod died and Ceri was critically injured, although she has since staged a remarkable recovery and even ran 10k to raise funds for the South West Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust.

The catastrophic event completely changed Tom's life as he started to process a mixture of emotions, resulting in receiving support from BBC Children in Need funded project, The Space, which has provided one-to-one counselling sessions for him.

Tom, from Cheddar, said: "School went very easy on me for a long time and that wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want special treatment.

"I was able to talk to The Space who gave me the support I needed. I can’t thank them enough for being there for me at such a hard and devastating time in mine and my family’s life.

"I’m looking forward to channelling my energy into executing The Rickshaw Challenge with Matt and the team.”

He is taking part in the Rickshaw Challenge in Somerset and Bristol on Monday (November 1).

There's a difference this year, with the rickshaw going to the riders rather than the other way round to keep everyone Covid safe.

Tom is one of five young people taking a leg each travelling through their home towns and visiting places that hold a particular significance for them.