AN ELITE surfer who lost his leg in an horrific accident as a teenager claims he is deemed “not disabled enough” to register for a motability scheme and is having his specially-adapted vehicle taken away from him.

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 which included a broken femur, both hips dislocated, 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 and hopes to represent Wales at the Paralympics in Japan in 2020.

However Llywelyn, who has a young son, was recently shocked to find out his specially-adapted Volkswagen Golf Estate is being taken off him.

The car is a vital lifeline for Llywelyn as he uses it to get to the beach, complete the school run, and get to his physio sessions.

“I’ve filled my last full tank of fuel before they take my car away on 9 October as apparently I’m not disabled and don’t qualify for motability,” Llywelyn told the Cambrian News.

“Currently I am in receipt of higher rate Personal Independence Payment(PIP), which means that I am eligible for a car through the motability scheme.

“The car is modified, as I am an amputee I cannot drive a manual, and have to have a modified automatic, to switch the foot pedals round.

“Without the higher rate PIP, I am not eligible for the car and it will be removed in just over a week. It stops on 9 October.”

A tougher new system implemented by the government’s Department of Work and Pensions earlier this year has deemed that Llywelyn does not require the highest banding of support despite his thigh-height amputation.

Llywelyn added: “As I use crutches to move around, even though I do so on one leg and am in reality hopping with the use of crutches, they say I am not eligible for the highest points, which has meant I have lost the higher rate and therefore the car.

“Even though I am in pain, my whole weight is on my wrists and shoulders. The strain being so great even my titanium crutches need to now be replaced.”The Department of Works and Pensions say it tried to organise a assessment with Llywelyn to discuss his PIP, which Llywelyn says he had to rearrange as he was away, but has not heard from the department since.A spokesperson for the Department of Works and Pensions said: “It is important that claimants who wish to continue to receive Personal Independence Payment participate in an assessment to support their claim for benefits.“Every effort is made to give sufficient notice that a home visit is due to take place, and if the date is unsuitable people can ask for the appointment to be rescheduled.“Anyone who disagrees with a decision can ask for a review.”