'If Chris McCausland can do it, I'd like to try'

A man who lost his eyesight four years ago has said he was inspired to take up ballroom dancing when Chris McCausland became Strictly Come Dancing's first blind contestant.

Lee Roberts, from Barnsley, who lost his sight having contracted sepsis, signed up to classes led by local teacher Amanda Parker, and now spends around four hours a week on the dancefloor.

McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell were crowned Strictly champions, lifting the glitterball trophy last month.

Mr Roberts, 44, told the BBC: "I thought if he can do it, I'd like to have a go myself."

To improve his coordination and movement, Mr Roberts and Ms Parker use the analogy of a clock face to help him picture where to go.

Ms Parker said: "If he hadn't been sighted, he wouldn't know what a clock looked like.

"We've had to put it together ourselves and work our way through it."

She added: "I actually get down on my hands and knees and move his feet so he can feel where they need to be."

Mr Roberts lost his sight after contracting a rare heart infection that turned into sepsis.

"Literally overnight, I lost sight in both eyes," he said.

"Everything got twice as difficult. It certainly turned everything upside down."

Mr Roberts said he did not think he would ever be able to dance but surprised himself when he took up the new hobby in the autumn.

"If you don't have a go then you will not know, have a go at anything, I say that to everybody," he said.

"Just have a go.

"I ought to have done it years and years ago."

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