A cycle crash victim who struggles to walk has thanked cabbies for saving their life after they raised £3,000 for an electric wheelchair.

Islington Gazette: Alex Doodle inside their flat in Englefield Rd. (Picture: Polly Hancock).Alex Doodle inside their flat in Englefield Rd. (Picture: Polly Hancock). (Image: Archant)

Alex Doodle will no longer have to “crawl” to and from the taxis they rely on get to hospital appointments after a crowdfunder hit its target within a week.

As reported in the Gazette last week, Alex, who is gender neutral, was put on a lengthy waiting list for a wheelchair earlier this year.

The architecture graduate has relied on black cabs to get around since a crash in Essex Road seven years ago and was “lost for words” when told the news.

“I’m still in shock and so grateful,” they said. “Black cab drivers continue to be my lifeline while government policies and funding cuts hinder my ability to live independently and have my basic needs met. A group of people in a trade also threatened took the time and effort to help me.

“They have given me more than a wheelchair – they have given me independence.”

Alex, who says they have been living off full fat milk because they spend all their money on cabs and mental health services, is looking forward to getting out and about again.

“I will be able to go to a hospital appointment, look around the shops or even go to an art gallery,” they said. “It’s been over seven years.”

The next target is wheelchair-accessible accommodation. Alex is currently in a first-floor flat in Englefield Road, Canonbury, waiting for an adapted home to become available – but just 28 have been let in the last two years. The council says it is doing all it can.

Alex, 44, continued: “When I eventually move I will live with more dignity and feel less degraded as one of my conditions makes it look like I’m having a stroke so I’m basically on the floor for hours or days or trying to drag myself on one side to the bathroom.”

Cabbie Terry Vaus started the fundraiser. He said: “It’s fantastic news. I never thought when it started it would go so well.”