THE parents of Trowbridge swimmer Aaron Moores are beaming with pride after he won gold at the Rio Paralympics on Wednesday night.

The 22-year-old won the men’s SB14 100m breaststroke title on Wednesday night qualifying second fastest for the final behind teammate Scott Quin. In the final their places were reversed, with Scott taking the silver medal for Team GB.

His mum Sue Chappell was cheering at the family home in Lamb Ale Green and said the excitement of it all hasn’t yet sunk in.

“I was jumping in front of the television and I’m just so happy and proud of him.

“We skyped him not long after and he had the medal around his neck and he just said how excited he was and that it will take a while to actually sink in that he had won,” the 53-year-old said.

“When he joined the Trowbridge Swimming Club when he was about 10, they said he was a good swimmer then. Without my mum, Maria, we wouldn’t have been able to afford for him to keep going so without her helping, he wouldn’t be where he is now.”

Aaron, who has learning disabilities, went to Studley Green Primary, Rowdeford School and Wiltshire College, and managed to secure grant funding from Wiltshire Council to help pay for training as well as working in Domino’s in the town before London 2012, where he won a silver.

He is now based in Swansea for his training camp but his parents hope that when he flies back to the UK next week, he will stop off at home to celebrate with them.

Aaron’s stepdad Phil, 57 added: “It will be nice to see him back home and we hope to pick him up from the airport once he’s done all his photos and interviews.”

Mike Greenan, president of the Trowbridge Swimming Club, who has known Aaron Moores for 12 years, said the club is delighted. He added: “I was there four years ago when he got the silver in London and we thought that was the crowning moment.

“We did think he had a chance at gold as he’d previously broken the world record and although he’d got his silver in the backstroke we thought he was better at breaststroke.

“He nearly got caught, he’s always been the same he goes off very quick.

“It was very nervous watching and it seemed like history was repeating itself, when he got the silver he was getting caught but we were just crossing our fingers.

“He’s always been very dedicated and it’s just great that he’s got the gold.”

Aaron’s win came just 24 hours after Corsham’s Stephanie Millward won her first gold medal in the S8 100m backstroke. The swimmer, who has MS, said the win was a dream come true.