CARRYING the flag for the UK into the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games may have been a high spot for Kirk (Spike) Hughes, of Beacon Hill, last week,

But then to win a bronze in wheelchair tennis was the icing on the cake for the brave athlete.

Kirk, from Eight Acres, who is known as Spike by his teammates, together with his partner Cornelia Oosthuizen, went down to their UK compatriots in the semi final but defeated Australia to win the bronze.

“It was something I never expected,” an emotional Spike told the Forces Network. I came into this wanting to get as far as I could. Tennis is such a new sport for me - I never picked up a racket before Invictus.

“It’s a dream come true. It is something I never expected and something like this brings you up so high.”

Kirk found himself at an extreme low point in his life when he was medically discharged from the Royal Navy, having been left with life-changing injuries after contracting meningitis while on military exercises in 2000.

For Kirk, who only ever wanted to enjoy and be part of the Invictus experience, winning the bronze was beyond his wildest dreams.

With support coming from his family – wife Diana and children Izzy, 13, and Bobby, 11, are all in Toronto cheering him on along with friends and teammates – Kirk said he benefited from the experience of his tennis partner, Cornelia, a former major in the Army.

“We were 2-0 down and she told me to relax and we turned the game around,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud.”

His wife said: “I don’t think I can explain how proud I am and of what he has overcome.”

Kirk was also taking part in hand cycling and wheelchair basketball before the games’ end on Saturday.