PRISON inmates tackled the ups and downs of an Army assault course in 1990 to help raise funds for a teenager.

Steven Bell, 16, had been diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy and was in desperate need of a faster wheelchair to get him between lessons at The Cooper School, Bicester.

The Steven Bell Wheelchair appeal was launched to raise £3,500 and inmates from Springhill open prison, near Bicester, were among the first to get the ball rolling.

The group of prisoners signed themselves up to tackle the army assault course in Arncott.

The course was organised by prison officers Brian Rixon and Will Bloxidge and Springhill's physical training instructor Bob Turner.