A TALENTED West Dorset athlete is looking for a little bit of help from the local community as he sets his sights on his Paralympic dream.

Joe Allen, 27, has racked up a number of successes on the duathlon and triathlon circuit and his ultimate goal is the Rio Paralympics next year.

He was recently crowned the national para duathlon champion following a successful competition at the Rockingham race circuit near Corby.

Joe was born without a right hand but from a young age showed a prowess for running, claiming county titles for cross country and 3,000m on the track.

He has lived in Bridport all his life and runs his own coaching company called Transition Running, as well as working as an instructor at Bridport Leisure Centre.

After competing for Great Britain in triathlon in 2013, Joe's recent success comes after he took the 2014 season out of competition to concentrate on his swimming - his weakest discipline.

His next major event is the British Triathlon Championships in Llanelli on May, 16.

Before that he will be putting in the hours and training hard with swim coaches Ian Mortimer and Tracy Clarke, who both coached at Bridport Barracudas.

If he is successful he will qualify for this year's World Championships in Chicago as well as a test event for Rio.

Despite all his achievements, Joe still races on a road bike, which puts him at a significant disadvantage to the rest of the field.

He is hoping to purchase a time trial bike to allow him to compete with the best in the world but it would need to be specially adapted and can cost up to £5,000.

So Joe has set up a crowdfunding page where he hopes to raise a portion of the cost.

Joe said: "The fundraising will be vital to my success in Rio 2016.

"Although I won at the national championships, on the world stage it becomes very competitive.

"Every triathlete knows you need the right equipment to be successful.

"A time trial bike can make the same rider, minutes faster."

He added: "I've had my current bike for six years.

"It was adapted by Jason Baker of AutoBitz who put a splitter on the left brake which allows me to use both brakes at the same time.

"I cycled from Bridport to Rome in 2010 for Cancer Research UK, so it's seen quite a few miles.

"It's been brilliant for winter training but when it comes to international competitions, it's like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

"I train two to three times a day as well as running my own business, Transition Running, so raising funds really is crucial to my success."

To support Joe and help him realise his dream visit crowdfunder.co.uk/paralympic-dream