A HAMPSHIRE PE teacher has become the first ever disabled contestant on ITV's hit show Love Island.

Hugo Hammond, 24, was born with clubfoot and previously played cricket for the England Physical Disability team.

He joins the new crop of contestants for the ITV2 series, which airs on June 28.

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Speaking about his cricket career, he said: “I’ve actually played cricket for England PD (Physical Disability). I’ve been to Bangladesh, Dubai, I’ve been everywhere to play cricket.

“I was born with clubfoot. I had lots of operations when I was a kid. You can only really tell when I walk barefoot. I’ve got a really short achilles heel. I walk slightly on my tip toes”.

He said of his job: “I teach secondary school PE. Absolutely love my job. I love all my sports. It’s great to be able to pass on that enthusiasm to be physically active to the younger generation and hopefully they feel the same about me teaching them.”

In 2018, contestant Niall Aslam left the series early, later explaining on social media that he had Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that can make it difficult to cope with change or stress.

Hugo joins a growing list of fellow local contestants, including Southampton's George Day and Portsmouth's Demi Jones.

This year’s series sees Laura Whitmore return as host and it will be the first time the ITV programme has aired since last year’s summer series was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The new series starts on June 28 at 9pm and airs on ITV2 and the ITV Hub.