A FORMER actor and founder member of a project to turn a listed building into a Gwent theatre has been left in a paralysed state after a car accident near Brynmawr.

Tony Barnes, from Ebbw Vale, says he doesn’t remember much about the incident on Thursday, February 27, but thinks his van skidded across the road and ended up in a ditch beside the B4248 travelling to Brynmawr from Blaenavon.

A former walk-on artist, Mr Barnes last appeared on screen in 2010, and is now a carer and a writer.

“I had been staying with a friend in Pontypool and I was on my way back home when it happened,” said Mr Barnes.

South Wales Argus:

“The road must have been slippery, but all I remember is ending up in a ditch and being told I couldn’t bend my back.”

Mr Barnes, who has featured in multiple episodes of Casualty, has been told his back is so badly damaged that he won’t be able to walk for up to eight weeks and might require significant surgery.

South Wales Argus:

“If I do bend my back or move about, they’ve said I could do real damage to my vertebrae,” he added. “To not be able to walk is quite daunting, I just hope I’ll be back to normal by the end of the eight weeks.”

After being in the hospital for over a week, Mr Barnes says he is starting to feel better, and praised the nursing staff at Abergavenny's Nevill Hall Hospital.

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“I’m feeling a lot better now and I’m in less pain. It’s boring and a little embarrassing lying here, but I feel lucky to still be here.

“The staff here do a terrific job and have really looked after me well. They deserve a medal for the work they do.”

South Wales Argus:

Mr Barnes worked tirelessly in the nineties for a project to preserve the grade II-listed boilerhouse, a distinctive part of the since demolished Dunlop Semtex factory. The project fell through in 1998, but Mr Barnes received significant praise for his work.

He is hoping to make a full recovery and has not written off television work in the future.

In the meantime, he is planning on finishing a book on Elvis Presley’s connection with Wales.

A spokesman for Gwent Police said: "We received a report of a road traffic collision between two vehicles on the B4248 near Brynmawr at around 9.10 on Thursday 27 February.

The collision involved a silver Vauxhall Astra and a white Talbot Type 6, and officers from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Ambulance Service also attended.

The driver of the Astra, a 49-year-old man from the Brynmawr area, sustained injuries to his head and arm and received treatment at Nevill Hall hospital.

The driver of the Talbot, a 57-year-old man from the Tredegar area, received treatment at the scene and was also taken to hospital.

The investigation is currently ongoing and anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Gwent Police on 101, quoting either log reference 2000072583."