Paralympic Gold Medallist David Weir Refused House with Downstairs Toilet

David Weir was a gold-winning hero for Great Britain at the 2012 Paralympics, but a year later the athlete and his family have hit out at their housing situation in their home town of Sutton.

Weir's fiancee Emily Thorne has told the Daily Mirror that the pair's current house, where they live with their three young children, does not have a bathroom downstairs.

It means that the 34-year-old, whose spinal cord transection at birth left him unable to use his legs, has to drag himself upstairs to use the bathroom.

Thorne told the paper:

"

We are not asking for a mansion, we just want somewhere with three bedrooms and a downstairs toilet.

With David getting a bit older he could do without the daily trips up the stairs on his arms.

"

Thorne also claimed in the same interview that the housing provider in her region, Roundshaw Homes, had a suitable house available at one stage—only for them to deny Weir and family the place to avoid it looking like "favouritism."

Roundshaw, given right of reply in the article, said:

"

We continue to actively liaise with Mr Weir to address his housing needs in terms of the size of his home and appropriate adaptations.

Roundshaw Homes provides homes on a referral basis which means that residents are nominated for a property by the London Borough of Sutton, our local authority partner; this includes residents in need of transfer. 

"

Weir won four golds at the London 2012 Paralympics (800m, 1500m, 5000m and Marathon) to go with two he claimed in Beijing.

He is also a multiple-time world champion and has won the London Marathon on six occasions.