A Westbury man who woke up one morning to find he was paralysed is hoping to raise £15,000 and achieve his dream of standing up on his wedding day.

Neil Martin, 47, of Oldfield Road, is determined to take his wedding vows and have his first dance upright, despite suffering from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which was only diagnosed after he lost the use of his legs eight years ago.

With the support of fiancé Ginny Marchmont, Mr Martin has set up a fundraising page in the hope of gathering enough money to purchase a stand up wheelchair and make their dream come true.

Mr Martin, who is wheelchair bound, said: “I’m normally a very private person but my daughter suggested the idea of a fundraising page.

“She said to me ‘Why don’t you do it?’ as one thing I would love to do would be to stand up at my wedding and recite my wedding vows and I could also use the chair for my first dance.”

The volunteer at the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre in Warminster walked to bed eight years ago but awoke to find he couldn’t move the next morning, as he was suffering from myotubular myopothy.

The rare condition, which usually only affects baby boys, causes muscle weakness and can result in problems with breathing and eating.

“It flipped my world upside down, it really did, it was absolutely a shock but you just get on with it,” Mr Martin said.

“There is no treatment, the doctors told me I have to get on with it and there is nothing else that we can do.”

The appeal to pay for the stand up wheelchair, which is not supplied by the NHS, has already raised £360 of the £15,000 needed in just a fortnight.

Should their target be reached, the couple are keen for as many people as possible who donated to attend their special day, on August 1 at All Saints Church in Westbury.

Mr Martin, a former factory worker at WH Kemp and employee at Vodafone in Trowbridge, said: “Achieving the target would be absolutely amazing, it would just mean the world.

“When we set up the page and we got the first donation we started crying because it’s just nice to know there are people out there who are that kind and nice.”

He and Ms Marchmont, 54, who works at Barclays Bank in Westbury, have been together since 2001. Mr Martin has a daughter, Abbie, 18 and son Christopher, 15, and Ms Marchmont has a son Alistair, 26, and daughter Georgena, 18.

The stand up wheelchair would not only allow Mr Martin to realise his dream of standing on his wedding day, but would also have a huge impact on his life after the ceremony.

“Having the wheelchair after the wedding would be amazing as well, it would improve my life so much,” added Mr Martin.

“It would help with the little things like when I go out to a shop I can pick something off a shelf without asking someone to do it for me.”

Mr Martin is no stranger to fundraising, having shaved his hair off and raised more than £400 for cancer research earlier this year.

Plans are already in place for charity nights and raffles, with Bath Rugby player Rob Webber donating a shirt signed by all the team which will be auctioned.

Should the funding for the stand up wheelchair – which ends on July 1 – not reach the required target, any money raised will be given to the Myotubular Trust which helps those suffering from the condition.

To make a donation visit http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-neil-stand-at-his-wedding-and-say-his-vows/283853