Borderland Rotary recently welcomed a retired Colonel to discuss his involvement with a charity.

Andrew Preston, a former British Army Colonel who served in Iraq, shared his personal experiences and work with the charity Climbing Out.

Mr Preston, who has dealt with trauma experienced by himself and his comrades, found solace in the charity, which was founded by Kelda Wood OBE after a life-changing accident.

He said: "I was not in a good place emotionally and was struggling to find ways to cope with PTSD and the situation was not helped by seeing colleagues fall by the wayside.

"It was then that I discovered that by sharing my experience and hope with others who have issues, helped me in turn, to come to terms with the way I felt."

Climbing Out aims to unite individuals who feel 'extremely low and lost', helping them to accept their situation and develop techniques to improve their emotional wellbeing.

This is achieved through tasks and challenging adventures with like-minded individuals.

Mr Preston explained: "It’s not an easy fix as you have to work at it, it’s not like having an injection and you’re cured, it’s a lifelong emotional commitment but the rewards are wonderful.

"We use the analogy of a table, it needs legs to hold it up and we must work with others to create and maintain those legs – it’s all about support.

"We’ve done outdoor projects in the mountains, canoeing, open-water swimming – just taking people up to and just beyond their physical and mental limits.

"It helped me so much that I have now become an ambassador for the charity – spreading the word about the great work that Climbing Out does."

For more information about the charity, visit their website.