A CRICKETER who chose to have his leg amputated after years of agonising pain has taken the field once again.

Rob Franks, who was forced to fundraise for his operation after the NHS refused to pay for the life-changing surgery, played his first competitive match just ten weeks after his amputation.

Since then he's played eight competitive games, averaging an impressive 59 runs each time.

"This is better than I've done for years," he told the Echo. "I've taken nine wickets as well, so everything is on the up."

Married Rob, who lives in Poole and is head coach at Ellingham Cricket Club in the New Forest, was first injured playing cricket in 2011.

Doctors found he had an aggressive tumour in his left knee.

Two years after an operation a routine check-up showed the growth had returned, and following a second operation, Rob suffered nerve damage and needed a wheelchair and crutches to get around.

Then, after joining a club in 2014 for people with disabilities, he suffered a broken leg. While surgeons managed to repair the break, Rob was left in almost constant agony.

It was while living in constant pain that he explored the idea of amputation, with well-wishers eventually digging-deep and raising £19,000 towards the costs.

In March, this year, he underwent the surgery, which went well.

Now, the father-of-two said: "The only reason I'm doing so well is because I have a positive mind and have a fantastic family behind me.

"If you have those two things, you can get through anything - I genuinely believe that.

Rob received his prosthetic leg nine weeks after his amputation, and was playing cricket the next week.

One strange phenomenon he experienced post-op were phantom leg pains.

He explained: "For the first week it was the most bizarre feeling I've ever had.

"About two days after my amputation I was sat on my bed and I could feel my leg swinging side-to-side.

"I looked down and there was nothing there, but it felt like it was going through the bed.

"Then I started feeling like I had cheesewire going between my little toe and the toe next to it, it was just 'wow this is really strange'.

"It didn't hurt, it was more of an annoyance, just really weird."

However, Rob says he would have had the amputation "a million times compared to living with the pain I was before."

He added: I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported me

"I've gone through the worse time in my life, come out the other end and feel the happiest I ever have."