A CHARITY formed by the family of Southampton motorbike crash victim Wayne Howard wants to hear from local people who have suffered brain injury.

The Wayne Howard Trust wants to draw on the experiences of families across Hampshire to help establish people's needs and how the organisation can help them.

Relatives, carers and patients themselves are being urged to drop the charity a letter or an e-mail to say how they have coped.

The views of local people will help create a forum this year for guest speakers.

The trust provides advice and support for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to Wayne, who suffered serious injuries in a near-fatal road accident.

As well as robbing the former Manx GP racer of his right leg, the crash left Wayne, a father of three, with brain damage.

Wayne, 37, of Porlock Road, Millbrook, is now making good progress after being flown to a top German clinic for treatment in 2002.

Daily Echo readers helped raise more than £30,000 to fund the trip to the renowned Schmieder Clinic, where Wayne was given intensive physiotherapy and a prosthetic leg.

Now his family has pledged to use their own experiences to help others like them.

The Wayne Howard Trust has a website and a charity shop in Church Street, Shirley.

The charity's ultimate goal is to raise enough money to build a specialist neurological and rehabilitation centre to offer a lifeline for acquired brain injury patients like Wayne.

Talking about their plans for a forum, Wayne's mum, Isobel Howard, said: "We want to hear about the pluses and well as the minuses. The aim is that if we find out about people's needs, the better we can help them."

In particular, the trust wants to know how long ago the injury happened, how severe the damage was and how difficult or easy it has been to care for.

Organisers are also interested to know whether the patient has been cared for in a hospital or at home, what sort of hospital experience they had and what sort of rehabilitation they have been offered.

People are urged to write to The Wayne Howard Trust, 16 Railway Cottages, Tate Road, Old Redbridge, Southamp-ton, SO15 0NL, or to file an e-mail to information@thewaynehowardtrust.co.uk.

You can click on www.thewaynehowardtrust. co.uk or telephone 023 8087 1696 for more information about the trust.

The charity is also interested in hearing from any organisations or individuals interested in speaking at the planned forum.