THE president of the International Paralympic Committee has thanked a York company for helping underprivileged Brazilian children attend the Rio Paralympic Games.

Telecommunications provider Cellhire delivered a record-breaking 22,000 3G and 4G voice and data connections during the Rio Olympics and Paralympics - 4,000 of them being used during the Paralympics.

Between them the games became Cellhire’s most successful event to date after the 2012 London Olympics, and the firm’s involvement included providing connections to more than a dozen of the main Paralympic teams.

Keen to give back to the local Brazilian community and in support of the #filltheseats campaign initiated by marketing expert Greg Nugent and backed by Prince Harry, Cellhire bought 200 children’s tickets to enable underprivileged youngsters to attend the games.

In a personal letter to Cellhire, International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven thanked the company for the contribution. “I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your role in making the #filltheseats campaign such a global success,” he wrote.

“Cellhire’s contribution and support for the campaign is much appreciated. Not only did it help us invite 15,000 young Brazilians to the cames but it also sent a message to families across Brazil that the Paralympics was not to be missed and something that they would never ever forget.”

Tim Williams, Cellhire’s chairman and chief executive, said: “It was a real privilege to put something back into the local community - and provide support for such an important campaign - especially because the Paralympics and Olympics were making a valued contribution to what will be a great year for us.

“And naturally we are extremely pleased with the record-breaking number of connections we provided.”

Cellhire is closely linked with the Paralympics and Olympics as a preferred supplier of key mobile telecommunications equipment, including SIM cards, smartphones, MiFi devices and other value-added telecoms services to organisations, sponsors and other visitors.