Schoolboy who became an amputee at just five days old shares his passion for the beautiful game

HIS skill on the ball and passion for the beautiful game are clear every moment young Harris Tinney is on the pitch.

But the exceptional schoolboy footballer is delivering his match-winning performances with only one foot.

Harris, now nine, became Scotland’s youngest amputee when he lost his right foot just five days after being born.

It had not formed properly in the womb and doctors told parents, John and Lisa, his only hope of ever walking or running was to have his foot surgically removed and a prosthetic one fitted.

John 38, an electrical engineer, from Bellahouston, Glasgow, said: “Harris had become entangled in fibrous amniotic bands in the womb.

“It restricted blood flow to his right foot and affected its development.

“Doctors advised us that immediate amputation was the only option.

“The op was carried out when he was only five days old.

“My wife Lisa and I were upset but we were determined to give Harris every chance to live life to the full.”

It had already been a tricky pregnancy Lisa, 35, a dental nurse, revealed.

At six months a man slumped backwards on to Lisa and her bump on an escalator after taking an angina attack.

She said: “I had to take the full weight of him until we got to the top where others rushed to our rescue. Paramedics took us both to hospital.

“The man was so apologetic and said I should just have let him fall. His wife had died six months earlier. But it was instinctive to help him.

“We will never know if that contributed to Harris’ foot.

“Harris had already been diagnosed in the womb with his liver and gall bladder out of the body.

“After the escalator incident I started losing amniotic fluid.

“By seven months into the pregnancy Harris was not thriving and doctors told us he would probably not survive.

“We were offered the option to end the pregnancy but we wanted to give him every chance.

“Within days he began to thrive and he was born four weeks later.”

He underwent surgery to put his organs into his body and surgeons then removed his right foot.

He recovered well and got out of hospital just two weeks later.

Lisa added: “To see him now you would never guess he had such a rocky start to life.

“He was walking at 10 months, just two days after getting his prosthetic foot fitted.”

By two he was kicking a ball about the garden.

Now the youngster has become a star midfielder in his boys’ football club, Palace Park, in Glasgow.

He plays with a carbon fibre blade foot.

John, a football coach and former junior football player, said: “Harris has always been at his happiest with a ball at his feet.

“We are often approached by people with other clubs, asking how manages to play so well.

“Many find it hard to believe he plays with a prosthetic foot.

“But he takes it in his stride and kicking a ball with a prosthetic foot is all he has ever known.

“He is right-footed but using a prosthetic to play has been nothing less than amazing.

“We never dreamt he would ever play football.”

Harris also plays without his prosthetic foot, using crutches.

He is team member of a junior Amputee Football Scotland.

It gives children and adults with amputations or congenital limb differences a chance to play football on a level playing field.

Ashley Reid, a spokeswoman for the club, said: “Harris is a hugely valued and committed member of our junior squad.

“Harris oozes positivity and is always smiling.

“He is a talented player and we’re all excited to see what lies ahead for him.”

When he’s not playing football, the sports mad schoolboy is on the running track with a blade-runner leg. He also skis and swims.

Harris said: “When I grow up I want to be a Paralympian for Great Britain.

“That’s my dream.

“It doesn’t bother me not having a right foot. It is all I have ever known.

“People ask if playing with a prosthetic foot is difficult but it comes naturally.”

A huge Rangers fan, Harris said: “Scoring at Ibrox would be a dream come true but if you try hard enough sometimes dreams can come true.”