A ONE-LEGGED man from the Ll?n Peninsula has proven himself to be one of the very best surfers in the world.

Llywelyn ‘Sponge’ Williams, from Bwlchtocyn, near Abersoch, was told his right leg would need to be amputated in 2011 after he was involved in a collision with a car while skateboarding.

Llywelyn, who was 16 at the time, suffered multiple injuries, including a broken femur, dislocated hips, shattered pelvis, punctured lung and a split liver.

Battling back from his horrific injuries, a determined Llywelyn continued to pursue his passion for surfing and has since become one of the world’s foremost adaptive surfers, travelling across the world to compete, with hopes of flying the flag for Wales and representing Team GB at the Paralympics in Japan in 2020.

In his latest triumph, Llywelyn placed third at the 2018 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship (WASC) held in La Jolla, near San Diego, USA, this month.

The world’s best adaptive surfers gathered in front of the gnarly surf to represent their nations in search of medals.

Llywelyn, who hit the headlines earlier this year after the DWP claimed he was “not disabled enough” for his Motability car, was delighted with his performance.

“I placed third in the AS-2 division representing Wales at the ISA World adaptive surfing championship,” he said. “I’m super stoked!

“I did the best I could for the waves I caught. I was told I fell off the wave that would have won it, but that’s just how it goes.

”Thank you to everyone for your support on the beach and back at home.

“Now to play around with different boards and set-ups to see what I can do to get that gold next year!”