A DISABLED man who has faced a harrowing series of medical setbacks over the last 15 years has explained how his passion for photography has been a “lifeline” for him.

Paul Jenkinson, of Y Ffôr, has taken a range of stunning snaps across Dwyfor and Meirionnydd, ranging from animals and plantlife to landscapes and architecture.

Although the pictures are captivating in their own right, they take on a whole new level of significance once you realise that Paul is registered blind.

He suffers from panhypopituitarism, a condition which has left him with between five and 10 per cent vision in his left eye and 50 per cent in his right eye. He has no depth perception and is also colour-blind.

“It started when I was 28 years old,” Paul, now 43, told the Cambrian News.

“I had some eye tests when I was younger because my peripheral vision was blurring. I’d always been colour-blind but I had the feeling that something else was amiss.

“The doctors found that I had something wrong with my pituitary gland and my optic nerve which called for an operation after years and years of tests

“Sadly that operation didn’t go to plan it’s fair to say.

“I was at home after the operation when I felt a ‘pop’ in the back of my head and before I even realised I was in an ambulance – I’d suffered a brain haemorrhage which left me suffering seizures.

“That was three or four years ago, it still affects me obviously.”

Paul’s tale of medical woes does not stop there unfortunately.

In a bid to boost the former building control officer for Gwynedd Council’s immune system, Paul undertook a programme of steroids when he was younger.

A side-effect of the course left him with osteoarthritis in his hips and knees making it uncomfortable to kneel or lay down for the perfect photo.

See this week’s north editions for the full story, in shops and online on Thursday