Stourbridge Specsavers help sports star Roy go for gold (From Stourbridge News)

Stourbridge Specsavers help sports star Roy go for gold

5:00pm Saturday 21st January 2012 in News

A BRIERLEY Hill sportsman will be going for gold after being earmarked for emergency hearing help - by Specsavers.

Top veteran table tennis star Roy Norton had his place booked at the Deaflympics in Japan but the trip looked in jeopardy after qualifying criteria called for specialist hearing tests to confirm his hearing loss.

Roy, aged 69, was told he would have to wait at least six weeks for the tests on the NHS, which would have ruled him out of the competition at the end on April.

Instead, the European championship silver medalist went to Specsavers after audiologist Louise Fellows arranged for the tests to be carried out at the company's High Street store in Stourbridge last week.

Roy Norton said: "It's brilliant, I was really pleased, I've done voluntary work for the NHS for 13 years, you would have thought they could have spared ten minutes to do these tests so I could represent the country.

"I look forward to all my trips, I have been to Japan before for the world veteran championships. At the Deflympics I will be playing in the individual competition and in the team competition with two lads in their 20s."

The tests for Roy, who has been playing table tennis for 56 years and is a member of Victoria Park Table Tennis Club in Walsall, required specialist equipment which is not normally available in the Stourbridge store but Louise was able to arrange for manufacturer Siemens to supply the kit.

She said: "We really wanted to help Roy out and ensure that he could make his trip out to Japan to represent the nation. I’m very grateful to Siemens for agreeing to come to the store and test Roy and we look forward to seeing how he gets on at the games."