Unlucky skiing ace Harry Gillam should have been flying out to Switzerland this week to compete in the Junior World Championships for the first time.

Instead the 15-year-old Olympic hopeful will have to watch from his bed after a training accident left him with a badly broken leg.

Gillam, from Bromley Cross, is rated as one of British snowsport's hottest prospects having become the first athlete to compete on the Europa Cup circuit in 11 years.

Up against some of the best aerial skiiers in Europe several years his senior, the youngster claimed some impressive finishes on the tour, prompting some to rate his as a possible winter Olympic medalist of the future.

His plans hit a snag, however, when he broke both his tibia and fibula while training at Bury Leisure Centre. The injury required four steel pins to stabilise the bone and is likely to sideline him for about four months.

But the setback is only temporary, according to his mother Gladys Marr, who has been team manager for the British Aerial skiing squad for the last two years.

"Harry is disappointed at the moment, but we hope he can be back in training in about four months," she said.

"The English Institute of Sport are helping with his rehabilitation, so all going well, he is young and should make a full recovery."

After his stay at Fairfield Hospital, Gillam's recovery could then be placed in the hands of the renowned orthopaedic centre at Wrightington in Wigan, the same people who helped Freddie Flintoff, Alan Smith and Xabi Alonso back to fitness.

Knocks and bumps are all par for the course for the youngster, who trains off the snow on trampolines in Bury and water ramps in Sheffield when he isn't surfing the pistes of Europe.

The high-flying world of aerial freestyle skiing is certainly not for the feint-hearted - but Gillam was never content to keep his feet on the terra firma, admitted his mother.

"People think he must be crazy, But Harry has been skiing since he was five years old. He started freestyle skiing, but it was all a bit tame. It's all about spatial awareness and acrobatic ability. Take alpine skiiers, they are fine with two feet on the ground and can handle the speed element, but when you put them 14 feet in the air, they start struggling," she said.

"It is a dangerous sport and you have to go through the proper procedures.

"He started trampolining and gymnastics and then decided he could use them all together.

"He took on aerials about two years ago, and has never looked back - it's such an exciting sport."

Although Great Britain's main Olympic focus is on the summer games of 2012 in London, Gillam's impressive results on the European tour have raised hopes of a rare winter gold.

"If he gets the right guidance, I think he could be very good," said his mother, who combines the role of team manager with her own full-time job.

"He will only be 18 when the next Winter Olympics comes round, but the target is certainly the 2014 games.

"The Olympics coming to London could be a good thing. We hope that more people will get involved in gymnastics, diving or trampolining, and they make very good aerial skiiers."

l Gillam is hoping to attend the Nordic Championships in Switzerland at the end of the year and is looking for any individuals or businesses who could help with funding for the trip. He is currently sponsored by Rivington Alpine and Redas, Manchester.

Anyone interested can contact Gladys on 07786 432730.