A MENTAL health specialist has been awarded a prestigious lifetime achievement award.

John Wills, an ambassador at Healthwatch Essex, was awarded by the Directory of Social Change.

Mr Wills, from Brightlingsea, suffered a traumatic childhood and turned to drink and drugs before managing to turn his life around after three years of therapy which began when he was 27.

After the experience, he then enrolled himself on a therapist training course and, after qualifying, began voluntary work with the charity HEAL. John went onto manage the charity and under his leadership it was awarded the Queens Award in 2007.

In addition to his work with Healthwatch Essex, Mr Wills, 51, is the manager and lead bushcraft instructor of Greenpath Ventures, which offers outdoor activities to disadvantaged people.

He is also project lead for Assisting Adult Recovery from Childhood Abuse (AARCA), which offers a recovery workshop programme for adult victims of childhood abuse.

The honour was voted for by the public in an online poll.

He said: “I have been totally taken aback by the level of support I received and want to thank every single person who voted for me, I am truly grateful and honoured to receive this award.

“I was very humbled to even be nominated and shortlisted for such a prestigious award, so the fact that I have gone on to win it is unbelievable! I only hope that in receiving this award it helps show people what can be achieved by someone who is given the right support and encouragement.”

Dr Tom Nutt, chief executive of Healthwatch Essex, said: “John really is a fantastic example of someone who has achieved positive change by using his lived experience to inform a better way of doing things.

“At Healthwatch Essex we talk about lived experience all the time in relation to trying to help health and care services identify what they do well and where they need to improve.

"John is a shining symbol of that approach, using what he went through as a springboard to make things better.”

Healthwatch Essex has a number of different types of ambassadors, including some specialising in areas such as mental health and learning disabilities.

Ambassadors are volunteers who help Healthwatch Essex collect and represent the voice of people in the county in relation to health and care services. For further details go to www.healthwatchessex.org.uk