A VETERAN has spoken out in support of the help they received in Wiltshire after living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Following a series of features on BBC Radio 4 about partners of ex-servicemen living with PTSD, retired soldier David Benest, 64, of the Army Parachute Regiment, spoke out to champion the experience he has had getting help at Tedworth House in Tidworth, run by Help for Heroes.

He said: “I had 13 weeks from June to September with one-to-one counselling using cognitive behavioural therapy and although not everyone has a great experience I just wanted to say the NHS does a very good service and down in Tedworth in Wiltshire there is fantastic work being done.I had been going private but through the NHS it’s all free.”

He has since raised £10k for The Ulysses Trust by delivering papers every morning around Manningford Abbotts where he lives, while continuing to cope with PTSD.

His comments came following the Women’s Hour feature last week, where partners spoke about the daily struggles of living with ex-servicemen experiencing PTSD. One women, who eventually got help for secondary PTSD, said: “All the women were describing their husbands illness and I felt relieved that I’m sat here with these women because they understood.”

Jay Hyrons lost her husband in 1982 in the Falklands war and has written a book about her life with PTSD. She said: “I think up until the last couple of years the health care situation has been bad. In the 1990s I was in hospital and they didn’t even have a specialist. I would get one kind of therapy but then have to go back on the waiting list. Things are very different now.

"Writing a book about my life with PTSD has been difficult but it has been cathartic for me, and has made me realise how strong I am."

Recently Help For Heroes called for the Government to commission an independent review into the process when injured soldiers are discharged, saying it was “seriously failing” those who are let down by inconsistent support.