Blind Sunderland photographer captures life inside Stadium of Light for charity

Blind phtotographer, Alex Ditch, with the signed Sunderland AFC photos he is raffling for charity.

Alex Ditch suffers from a very rare genetic disorder - Bardet Biedl Syndrome - which causes a huge range of health problems, including rapid sight degeneration.

But, despite being registered blind, the 23-year-old, has a huge passion for photography.

One of the photos Alex Ditch is raffling for charity.

The Castletown football fan was thrilled when bosses at Sunderland AFC agreed to allow him access to the Stadium of Light to take photos - two of which he is now raffling off to raise money for the charity, Bardet Biedl Syndrome UK.

The two photos Alex has chosen to raffle are both framed and measure 30ins by 20ins.

One is a photo of the stadium and is signed by all the present player and the manager, and the other is The Legends photo and is signed by all the legends apart from Charley Hurley and the late Raich Carter.

Alex said: “I love my photography, so I wanted to take the opportunity to help to raise some money for BBS UK through my photography.

“I think the photos turned out pretty well.”

He said he is very thankful to staff at the Stadium of Light, especially Chris Waters, who helped him with the project.

BBS affects around 1 in 250,000 people and there are very variable symptoms, which may include retinal degeneration, obesity, reduced kidney function, toe and finger variations and learning disabilities, to name a few.

Alex, who was also born with a foot defect which limits his mobility, used to enjoy playing archery, but due to the condition getting worse he was finding it hard to do the walking involved.

So, despite his eyesight deteriorating, he decided to take up photography and loves it.

He said: “I have no peripheral vision, it is almost down to a pinhole that I can see, and it is progressing quite quickly, I never go out alone, I’m always with family or a friend.

“But, my love for photography keeps me going and motivated.”

One of Alex’s other passions is tenpin bowling and he is a member of a partially-sighted team which takes part in competitions.

The raffle will run until end of May, with the draw date to be confirmed, and the photographs will come with letters of authenticity.

Tickets are priced at £1 each and people can buy them via Paypal using the address [email protected] and raffle numbers can be sent to to buyers via email or posted.