A parliamentary group investigating ways of empowering young people to help them find work has been hearing from a young disabled man from Kent.

Owen West, from Staplehurst, was just 15 when he awoke to find himself unable to walk, just months after being told by doctors that he was suffering from severe genetic conditions affecting his spine and joints.

Owen who suffers from type-three Loeys-Dietz syndrome and the extremely rare CDK13 has had to use a wheelchair ever since.

Owen, now 20, has always refused to let his disability rule his life. He plays wheelchair basketball for a team in Folkestone - the Folkestone Arrows - and wheelchair rugby for a team in Canterbury - the Canterbury Hellfires.

Last year, he also captained a team of 60 participants from across the country taking part in the Super Heroes virtual summer challenge – to collectively travel the equivalent of the circumference of the earth, while dressed in a Super Hero costume.

His mother Shelley West said: “It was a different kind of challenge altogether for Owen to appear before a room full of MPs and Lord Aberdare from the House of Lords, but he was keen to do his bit.”

Owen, who is also partially sighted and has a speech impediment, was there as a representative for Whizz Kidz, the charity for children who use wheelchairs.

His question was the only one relating to accessibility in the workplace for disabled young people.

He asked the chair of the committee, Jo Gideon MP: “Why isn’t the interview process more accessible? I find it hard to speak because I have a speech impediment and anxiety.

“I may be the best candidate for the job, but if they cannot see me, work with me, then I will not get a job.

“And they will miss out on my genius.

“There is help in an exam situation, such as scribes and extra time. Why can’t interviewers do this?'

Speaking afterwards Owen said: “I have an EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan) because of my difficulties.

“Lots of my professionals know how to work with me to get the best from me.

“I use video presentations so they can be subtitled by a scribe.

“I use technology to help me and I have just been registered as partially sighted.

Owen admits he really struggles when talking to new people in strange surroundings.

“My videos help me to express my views when I know I might not be able to speak or to be understood,” he added.

“When I first told some of my friends what my question was, they said it was good.

“I really liked that everyone in that room listened to what I had to say.”

The parliamentary group has issued a report on their findings, which can be found here.

The hearing took place in a meeting room inside the House of Commons.