Getting life back TW on track thanks to veterans' charity

FORMER soldier Chris survived active service and a career-ending leg injury. He has also survived drug and alcohol addiction, and a spell sleeping rough. He is a walking, breathing example of how someone can turn their life around.

- WILLIAM TELFORD

Chris has not done it alone. He has been helped by the Alabaré Homes for Veterans charity, which has a flagship support scheme in Plymouth and, just like back when he was in the Coldstream Guards, it is a team effort.

"You have to be committed, put the work in alongside the support," Chris said. "Veterans who have fallen on hard times can turn their lives around - if they want to." The 35-year-old left the Guards eight years ago, after nine years in uniform. He had been medically discharged with a leg injury that has left him in constant pain. A non-commissioned officer, he won a gold medal in Prince Harry's Invictus Games for wounded veterans, but civilian life proved a challenge.