Matthew Newbury

Early life

At a young age Newbury was working as a volunteer at the Norwich Playhouse, as well as spending the weekends travelling back and forth to London. He wanted to work in technical theatre, specifically in the West End.

In 1997, whilst travelling back from London he was involved in a serious road traffic accident in which he lost his left leg above the knee. He spent 18 months in various hospitals recovering. He moved to London in 2001 to work in professional theatre in the West End.

In 2003, Newbury received £2.1m as compensation for his injuries, plus a further award to provide for his accommodation needs.

Business interests

Newbury set up a home building company, Newbury Developments and one of its projects was the construction of housing in Newbury's home town of Norwich. Newbury's other businesses include a failed theatre production company.

He is featured in the Sunday Times Rich List 2012 (60 Richest Young People) with a net worth of £9 million.

Bionic leg

In 2011, Newbury was the first person in the UK to be fitted with a groundbreaking new bionic prosthetic leg, Genium. It is claimed the leg cost him around £50,000. The leg allowed Newbury to ride a bicycle, ski and climb the stairs normally. The leg's technology led to Newbury being labelled the UK's first bionic man.

The Secret Millionaire

In 2012 Newbury took part in a Channel 4 documentary programme, The Secret Millionaire. He focused mainly upon charities working with individuals with disabilities.