Originally published: 7 January 2011
When Allyson Capron fell out of a window, she was left paralysed from the waist down and feared it was the end of her glamour model career.
But she overcame the odds to continue working in the industry and now sells raunchy images of herself in her wheelchair.
“After the accident I thought my career was over,” she says. Shockingly, she adds: “Then I realised I could use my disability as there are a lot of men with wheelchair fetishes. I get more attention from men now than I did before the accident.”
'I get more attention from men now than I did before the accident'
Allyson, 29, from Caerphilly, Wales, began working in the sex industry at 21. She says: “I wasn’t happy in my admin job, so when I saw a local ad for lap dancers I thought it could be an exciting way to make money.”
She began lap dancing part-time. Then two years later Allyson, who was raised by her grandparents and has no contact with her parents, left her admin job to work on adult TV channels full-time.
Amazingly, Allyson’s grandparents supported her career. “They knew it was what I wanted to do,” she explains.
Allyson then went on to make pornographic films. “It seemed to be an easy way to make money,” she says.
“I was worried I wouldn’t be good enough and felt nervous, but I was soon doing a film a month. I loved spending the money on clothes and nights out, and I didn’t find it degrading either.”
But in September 2008 Allyson fell from a first-floor bedroom window, causing devastating injuries.
“I was on a windowsill at my mate’s house and I slipped out,” recalls Allyson, who broke her back in the 13ft fall on to concrete.
“The next thing I remember is being in hospital. A friend heard the doctor say I’d never walk. I was devastated, but it took six weeks for it to sink in. Then I cried every day for weeks. I thought my life was over and no one would find me attractive again.”
But when Allyson left hospital after five months, she decided to continue working in the adult industry. She says: “I knew the industry well and understood there was a market for it. I didn’t want my life to change, so I forced myself to stay positive and set up an adult website.”
Now she takes photos of herself and supplies them to men who have a sexual fetish for disabled women.
'I only pose in sexy underwear now. I'm worried my legs looked ugly because they've lost muscle tone'
“I only pose in sexy underwear now. I'm worried my legs looked ugly because they’ve lost muscle tone, but I’ve got loads of fans,” she says.
Allyson also started dating unemployed Christopher Williams, 33, in January.
“We hit it off straight away,” she says. “And we have sex, even though I can’t feel it, because I love being intimate with him.
“He’s not bothered about my job,” she adds. “While the men keep paying I have no reason to stop. It’s lots of fun and makes me feel attractive. And it’s rewarding to know I’m making so many people happy.”