PLAYING computer games, having a kick-about in the park or chatting on Facebook with friends are things that most teenage boys take for granted.

But for Mackenzie Weir, of Marling Close, Frodsham, getting a spare moment to enjoy a hobby can be hard to find as he juggles mountains of school work with caring around the clock for his severely disabled sister and father who was left with a brain injury following a car accident.

Now, despite helping his mother care for his sister and father, the 15-year-old Helsby High School student is managing to take some time out to help other game fanatics fall in love with his favourite hobby – Warhammer games.

The Weir family – who were named Chronicle Champion of Champions at the 2004 Your Champions awards – suffered a tragic blow when their family car plunged into a canal trapping the young family inside and leaving father Angus with a brain injury.

Since his elder brother Cameron – who saved the lives of the young family during the crash by repeatedly diving down and pulling them to safety as their 4x4 sank – left for university, Mackenzie has been working around the clock to care for his sister Rosie, 18, who needs constant care for her severe disabilities.

But mum Beryl says modest Mackenzie has now managed to set up his own Warhammer club in Frodsham after struggling to play his hobby and meet fellow gamers as the nearest playing station was in Ellesmere Port.

Mackenzie, who is in Year 10 at Helsby High, has been playing Warhammer – a game where competitors use fantasy figures and create tabletop armies to engage in battle – for more than five years and wanted to create a club where other gamers, young and old, could socialise and battle without having to travel miles from home.

“There are a lot of boys and girls in the Frodsham area who enjoy playing the game, but there is nowhere they can all meet without travelling,” said Beryl, who explained that, despite having to get up in the middle of night to care for Rosie, Mackenzie never moans.

“I never thought he would set up his own club, but Frodsham Library have allowed him to arrange one. He is busy all the time, but he loves playing this game and just wants to meet other people who share his passion.”

Mackenzie’s Warhammer club runs every second and fourth Saturday of the month from 10-12.30am. Anyone is welcome. For more information email Mackenzie at mackenzie.weir@btinternet.com.