ANDREW Lloyd was not only the inspiration of a new video which is the first of its kind in the UK - he is also the star.

Andrew, who has Down's syndrome, underwent heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary last year, and the film is aimed at other young patients with learning difficulties.

It follows him on his journey through the process of preparing for the operation, the surgery and his recovery.

"I enjoyed making the video and I hope that it will help other people in a similar situation feel more confident about coming into hospital," said the 27-year-old, who lives with his parents, Ann and Jeff, in Malpas, Newport.

Andrew was born with congenital heart disease but it did not become apparent until he was 18 months old, his mum explained.

"For the first 15 years we didn't see a consultant because they didn't operate on children with Down's syndrome. We never thought they could - all we had was a monthly visit by a person from Bristol."

She said they were shocked when asked if they would consider an operation and eventually, despite some reservations on her part, it went ahead.

"It was hard for Andrew to understand why he needed an operation. We tried to get help from everywhere but they hadn't really come across this problem."

At the Bristol hospital they were put in touch with congenital heart disease specialist Sheena Vernon, who advised them to be open with Andrew about what was happening.

With help from community learning difficulty nurse Eileen Danford, a scrapbook was put together about the operation, with the theme "I'm gonna go for it", which also became the title of the video.

"We visited Bristol three times and took him around the wards so he could meet the staff, but not everybody could do that so they can watch the video instead," said Mrs Lloyd, who has two other sons, Mark and Daniel.

Andrew, a champion swimmer and special Olympics gold medallist, who attends Brynglas adult training centre, had a successful operation. "I feel great," he told the Argus.