Gary Steer, from Gloucester, had the footballing world at his feet when he was 10 years old. Playing for a successful local junior football team, everything was going well for the young striker and he even dreamt of playing for his beloved West Ham United.

Then, aged 11, his life turned upside down when he suffered a brain haemorrhage following a freak cycling accident.

He fought his way back into football after a three month absence from the game. However, things just weren't the same. Despite the fact that he'd recovered much of his manoeuvrability, his injury had affected his balance. He felt frustrated and found himself losing his temper during games. Half the time didn't want to play.

Things came to a head approaching the new millennium. He went on a football coaching course that turned out to be a personal disaster. He returned to Gloucester feeling depressed about what had happened and it lead him to taking an overdose on New Year's Eve. Fortunately he called for help.

The incident led him to reflect on his life and he discovered a passion for writing. He put all his thoughts and emotions down on paper and eventually turned them into a book that recorded his life story.

Now Gary's looking to the future and he hopes his love of writing will be involved in some way.

(film maker Gary Steer from Gloucester)

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