AN ex-serviceman from Sale has flown out to Brazil to compete at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro from September 7-18.

Jon Allan Butterworth, 30, was announced on the cycling team by the British Paralympic Association (BPA) in June.

He will compete in the Rio Olympic Velodrome venue on Friday September 9 in the Men’s C4 Kilo. He also competes on Sunday September 11 in the Mixed Team Sprint Qualifier.

Jon Allan has been supported in his sport by Help for Heroes, which works in partnership with the BPA and UK Sport to provide military athletes with an introduction to Paralympic sport.

He is already winner, representing his country at the London 2012 Paralympic Games in Track and Road Cycling, where he won three silver medals.

“I’ve won world titles on the track, broken numerous world records, even more national titles and national records,” said the bike-shop owner.

“Then three silvers at London, I’m not being greedy; all I want is one gold at Rio. It would be really nice to finish off that collection.”

Jon Allan, a former Weapons Technician in the RAF, served in Afghanistan in 2005 and Iraq in 2007.

It was there in August 2007 that he was caught in a rocket attack on Basra Air Station.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A bit of shrapnel tore through my left arm and somehow missed all of my vital organs; I walked away with only a scratch really.”

He was operated on by doctors in a battlefield hospital who carried out an above the elbow amputation of his left arm.

In August 2008, with support from Help for Heroes, Jon-Allan attended a Paralympic sports camp in San Diego. The British Cycling team then took notice and put him through his paces.

“Not a lot of people can go back to active service after injury, to go back out there and fight for your country,” said Jon Allan.

“So this is like another way to fight for your country. It’s an honour to represent my country again in the sporting arena. I can’t go back to the military but I can do this. Sport has replaced that longing to belong to something, it did replace the military.”