Island 14 years ago, last week helped win a top award for a travel company for the disabled.

Mr. David Croft successfully nominated Britain's Holiday Property Bond for the UK's 1994 Holiday Care Award. The company provides first-class adapted accommodations for the disabled in Britain and abroad.

The awards are run by the Holiday Care Service, a charity which helps provide information and advice on suitabe accommodation for disabled holiday-makers.

Mr. Croft is in a wheelchair as a result of a diving accident on Horseshoe Beach in 1980, when he was working as a chef at the old Bermudiana hotel.

The accident resulted in severe spinal injuries and left him paralysed from the shoulders down at the age of 21.

He returned to England where he now does voluntary work for various charities highlighting disability matters.

He found out how difficult it was to find suitable holiday accommodation for disabled people and their families. He also found a need for disability insurance.

HELPING THE DISABLED -- Former Bermuda chef Mr. David Croft, (left), disabled in a 1980 accident while he was here on a work contract, helped a travel company for the disabled win a British national award. He is pictured with a Royal Automobile Association official in England during a recent promotion.