A DULOCH dad has used lockdown to lock in a new business venture offering a bespoke sportswear range for amputees.

Former soldier Adam Faulkner, along with friend Tyne Rogers, set up the BlaxBee Clothing Co earlier this year and is hoping its AmpuBee range will help former servicemen around the world.

The fully-customised and bespoke range has already attracted a great deal of interest and the pair have now set up a crowdfunding page which they hope will help them kickstart its mass production.

Adam, who spent 11 years in the army, said they wanted to accommodate every ability and adaption and to be known as an "Every-Body" brand.

"I got made redundant from my last job in March and I already had an idea about a sportswear brand but really didn't know where to start," he said. "It escalated after speaking to one of my friends, Tyne, who was blown up in Afghanistan.

"With him being an amputee below the knee, he struggles to find sportswear without just going for shorts – if he goes for men's leggings or basewear, he feels uneasy about cutting a pair. Then we thought, 'Why don't we start manufacturing stuff like this?' That is how the idea came around.

"There's nothing currently in the whole world where a sports company dedicates an actual range. It is about being bespoke at the point of purchase. Usually, they buy from a big brand and and then pay to get things tailored.

"We started manufacturing and have orders from all over the UK and now in the US as well. We know it is going to be useful to the market. We want to let people know that we are around and it should be at least that you don't have to destroy part of your sportswear."

After developing the range with Tyne, the veterans are hoping that their products will help change lives and wellbeing for those who have been wounded.

"I am quite honoured to have such a good mate who can tell me what is good for amputees," added Adam, who also works as a volunteer at a COVID test centre.

"I was 11 years in the military and a PTI (physical training instructor) for the military as well. Physical and fitness is my kind of thing. Design is not and I have just seen this as an opportunity to give something back to those who have sacrificed the most.

"We were quite amazed when doing all the research for amputee sportswear that there was not one single thing you can find online that isn't for anything other than medical things.

"What we are doing at the moment is crowdfunding because the rate that orders are coming in, we need to start mass production. It is quite overwhelming how it has kicked off."

Anyone wanting to help with AmpuBee's fundraising can do so by visiting www.crowdfunder.co.uk/blaxbee.