A son has spoken of his pride at his dad being chosen to carry the Olympic torch for his campaigning for the rights of deaf people.

Terry Riley, 67, a former editor of See Hear - the BBC programme for Deaf People - will be carrying the flame through Birchington, Thanet, on Thursday, July 19.

Leaving school at the age of 14 with no qualifications Terry, of Sandyhurst Lane, Ashford, has overcome many obstacles in his life, including those presented by his deafness.

In 1987 he started work as a researcher on See Hear, which tackles issues affecting deaf people, rising to become the first deaf editor of the series.

Terry - whose parents were also deaf - has striven to improve the lives of deaf people throughout his life, sitting as vice president of the European Union of the Deaf, which works to improve the lives of over 10 million deaf people within the EU.

In 2010 he was awarded an honourary doctoratefrom Wolverhampton University for over 40 years of campaigning for deaf rights and the promotion of British Sign Language.

Terry has also run the London Marathon and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro at the ripe age of 50, raising £4,000 for deaf women and breast cancer. He now sits as a Governor at the Royal School for the Deaf in Margate.

Proud son Colin Riley, 30, said: "In one word my dad is a legend.
"He has always encouraged me to overcome any problems and his advice was always 'face it head on, don't turn away from it', and throughout his life he has done this.

"No matter what life brings he always has a smile and a sense of humour that is so uplifting and lightens the day.

Colin, his mother Angela, his two sisters and their three children, will all be travelling to Birchington on the day to watch Terry in action.