Former Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? host Chris Tarrant opens extended and refurbished building at Horsham stroke survivor support club

The club, based in Horsham, provides support to over 50 stroke survivors every week across West Sussex.

Over £325,000 was raised to pay for the building and landscaping work.

The extension means more members can join, particularly stroke survivors in wheelchairs. There is a therapy room where members can receive treatment in the privacy of a dedicated area as well as a new landscaped garden area.

Chris suffered a terrifying stroke mid-air during a 14 hour flight from Bangkok to London in 2014.

He thought he had cramp before realising it was far more serious.

Chris said: "It's fairly well known now that I had a stroke in mid-air coming back from Bangkok.

"For two or three weeks I was in Bolivia then I went to Burma [Myanmar], then on to Bangkok so I'd been pushing it a bit.

"When I got to the airport I kind of keeled over and thought it was just cramp. But I carried on and got on the plane.

"Slowly throughout the night - I was flying through the night - I found that I couldn't use my arm.

"Eventually everyone on the plane was asleep and I thought, this is a stroke, I don't think is cramp anymore.

"I was really scared. I thought I was going to die. But, and this is a very British thing, I decided not to tell anyone and not make a fuss.

"When I got to Heathrow I more or less completely collapsed."

Upon landing, he was rushed to Charing Cross Hospital where doctors did emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his leg.

Chris added: "I was in hospital for three or four weeks and everyone was incredible.

"But it was scary. I was convinced that I was going to have a second stroke."

He needed a lot of speech therapy and physiotherapy and made many changes to his lifestyle to minimise the risk of suffering another stroke.

Chris said: "Having a stroke was a terrifying experience and the rehabilitation is tough.

"Places like Phoenix Stroke Club make such a wonderful difference and I was delighted to be asked to join in the celebrations.

"I have enjoyed meeting everyone and what you have achieved here is impressive."

Don Burstow, who has been a trustee at the club for over 40 years, oversaw much of the building project.

He said: "These improvements means we can offer support to more stroke survivors and provide them with a better experience when they are with us.

"I would like to thank the fundraisers and the many donors who made the dream of a new building and garden become a reality.”

Lesley Niven, who has been a trustee since 1994, said: “We are pretty unique in this area because there isn’t another facility like this.

"We enjoy a pretty good reputation in the community, so I think members enjoy that and being with each other."

Daryl Gayler, from Pease Pottage, suffered a debilitating stroke in February 2019. He was at work at the time as a regional director at NatWest and had the stroke aged just 53.

He said: "I was fit and healthy, a non-smoker, non-drinker, regular gym-goer. I was just sat in the office and then suddenly it came on.

"I had a blood clot in the brain so I spent about three months in hospital having various operations and then physiotherapy and speech therapy.

"It was life-changing but I'm lucky that I have a family that is very, very supportive."

Daryl joined the club when it reopened in May 2021.

He added: "It [the Phoenix Stroke Club] is not just important for me but it gives a nice rest to my carers and my family.

"It's nice to meet a circle of friends and we all have something in common.

"We have some fun, we play games. We do some mental challenges which are great for your brain. It's just a really nice group of people.

"I really like it [the new facilities]. I've only been coming here since the extension was done, so I didn't really see it before.

"But it's lovely. There's a lovely garden, plenty of space and the people are really friendly. They make you feel really welcome."

Over 100 stroke survivors, donors, volunteers and trustees joined in the official opening.

Donors for the building work include The League of Friends of Horsham Hospital, The Wolfson Foundation and The Hope Keith Villagers Trust.

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