Richard Whitehead believes the impact of National Lottery funding has been the bedrock of British success on the Paralympic stage.

The National Lottery has supported para sport for the last 30 years and has had a transformational impact having helped expose people to para sport across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It is work that athletics star Whitehead, 48, believes has been fundamental to the success of ParalympicsGB, helping him capture four Games medals over a glittering career.

"It's hard to think about what Paralympic sport was like before The National Lottery was around," said Whitehead, who burst onto the scene over a decade ago at London 2012, a Games that helped change so many perceptions of people with disabilities.

"The National Lottery's support is the tip of the iceberg to our Paralympic success.

"When those athletes stand on the podium and reflect, it's not just about their time in elite sport – it's about those people who have supported them on the journey to the top.

"And when I think about magnifying support for para athletes, what The National Lottery players do has had a massive impact."

Whitehead stormed to T42 200m gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016 to became a household name in the world of British para sport.

He has enjoyed a career full of success that he deemed would not have been possible was it not for the backing of The National Lottery and its players, from their state-of-the-art preparation camps for elite level athletes all the way down to their grassroots support.

"Their work is what makes the best prepared team for GB," added Whitehead, who was one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing him to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.

"The training camps ahead of the Paralympics were fantastic, whether it was Portugal pre-London 2012 or Brazil pre-Rio.

"They are part of the success of the team because they get those things right.

"If you look deeper than that, it's when you get the nutritionists, sports physios and psychologists and all the way down to supporting grassroots clubs.

"Without them you can't shine the light on the future of the sport."

Paris 2024 will be the first Paralympic Games since London 2012 which British audiences can enjoy in a similar time zone.

The home Games were a beacon of success for the Paralympic movement, providing access to a world of para sport that many had never seen before.

And despite Rio and Tokyo limiting viewing to the twilight hours for most of Britain, Whitehouse believes that the Paralympic light is still burning as brightly as ever – and is now urging the public to tune into some of the inspirational and incredible stories of ParalympicsGB.

"I think that Paralympic light shines brightly still," he said.

"Since London 2012, the visibility of para sport has helped showcase sports that people have not seen before.

"The real focus for the Paralympics is that we're not participating, we're competing.

"But for me, it's around the stories of the individuals and their journey to elite sport and how they got there.

"People forget that people's journey into para sport is so different, whether it's through birth, through trauma, accident or illness.

"You find in para sport that there are a lot more athletes who are later in their life journey but still so young in their athletic ability because they are still discovering what they can do.

"Those stories are so important for resilience, especially for young people."

With more than £30M a week raised for Good Causes, including vital funding into elite and grassroots sport, National Lottery players support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to live their dreams and make the nation proud, as well as providing more opportunities for people to take part in sport.  To find out more visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk