A FOOTBALL fan who says his guide dog allows him to live the life he wants has called on people to back a major fundraising drive for the assistance animals.

West Ham season ticket holder Paul Goodwin, who lives in Carterton, loves cheering on his team with his guide dog Molly at his side.

But the Hammers supporter said he would not be able to make the regular trip to their home ground in London without his brown Labrador after his eye sight deteriorated several years ago.

The father-of-two said: "She has changed my life.

"I'm a bit mad and Molly is too, which is great because she doesn't mind loud noises that you would get when you go to a football game or a gig.

"She enables me to live the life I want to continue living, even though my eye sight is going.

"I was trained to use the cane and I went out with it once and hated it but with Molly she gives me the confidence I need to keep doing things I would have done before my eye sight got bad."

Mr Goodwin was diagnosed with Choroideremia - a rare inherited disorder that causes progressive vision loss - when he was a child.

Doctors at the time told him it would not be until he reached his 40s that he would start to notice his eye sight drastically deteriorate.

He got five-year-old Molly three years ago.

Now 48, Mr Goodwin said: "I am legally blind but it is more my peripheral vision that has gone at the moment - it is like tunnel vision.

"But it can get worse and depending on the severity of my condition I could lose all my vision.

"This is why having Molly is brilliant because I still have my independence.

"A few weeks ago we went to see the rock band The Cult in Brixton and she was great."

Mr Goodwin was forced to give up his trade as a painter and decorator due to his eye sight.

He now works in customer service at Oxfordshire County Council and is a volunteer counsellor.

Next month charity Guide Dogs will be running its annual fundraising and awareness event in the first week of October.

The organisation hopes to raise £1 million to help more of the two million people in the UK living with sight loss.

He added: "This is why it is so important that we raise awareness of guide dogs and their role in making sure people live their lives as they want to.

"You should not have to do something you enjoy just because you are visually impaired."

Mr Goodwin says he hopes he can be part of a clinical trial in Oxford that wants to prevent his eye sight from deteriorating further.

He said: "I'm hoping I will be able to join phase three of a trial they have at the moment.

"Where they inject your eye and the therapy is meant to stop your vision from getting any worse.

"I'm really hoping I can be a part of this and that it works because otherwise my eyesight could completely go."