£9,000 'putt' towards injured hero's home

More than 200 golfers teed off to raise £9,000 for a Shropshire soldier badly injured fighting for his country in Afghanistan, just days after he moved back home to the county permanently.

Hugh Vaughan, the father of Corporal Simon Vaughan, of Hodnet, organised a charity golf day at Hawkstone Park Golf Course, near Wem, yesterday to raise the money to specially adapt his son's home.

Corporal Vaughan was on operations in December 2008 when a vehicle he was travelling in went over an improvised explosive device.

The married father-of-one suffered multiple injuries, including a serious brain injury. He returned home to the county on Monday after undergoing rehabilitation at Headley Court, a military facility in Surrey.

The money raised from yesterday's event will go towards the cost of adapting a house in Ercall Heath for Corporal Vaughan, his wife Donna and son Ben. So far the family have raised £75,000 and need a further £25,000 to complete the work.

The house was paid for with a compensation payout Corporal Vaughan received from the Ministry of Defence. But after the Vaughans bought their new home it was condemned by council officials, landing them with a huge repair bill to make it safe to live in.

Donna Vaughan said: "It is brilliant to have him back in Shropshire. He is in a care home in Newport until the house is ready.

"It is so much better. We can visit him every day and his relationship with our son is so much stronger.

"Because he was rehabilitating in a military base we didn't have to worry about costs for his care. Now he has left I am not sure. That is still up in the air."

Mr Vaughan, who lives in Whitchurch, said: "We have had a really good turnout and the good weather has helped. Our original target was to raise £8,000 but the raffle has been going well, so it is more likely to be an extra grand on top of that. I would like to thank everyone who helped organise the event and joined us on the day."

The golf day is one of several events held to raise money for Corporal Vaughan. To lend your support to the appeal, visit www.simonvaughan.co.uk