A NAVY veteran who spent ten years locked in his house suffering with crippling PTSD is set to compete in his second Invictus Games.

Paul Guest, 54, has long battled the disorder following a serious injury on duty in 1987.

He toured Northern Ireland and the Gulf as a mine warfare specialist.

His career came to an end when he suffered his injuries, which have left him with partial deafness, visibility impairment and incontinence, meaning Paul requires 24-hour care.

Paul, from Kirby, locked himself in his bedroom and piled on weight, but he has since turned a corner.

Last year he was part of the UK team in Toronto for the Invictus Games – a multi-sport event created by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or sick veterans.

He returns this year to continue a journey that has helped him transform his life.

“The Invictus Games is a lifeline for me, something for me to aim for and to help me keep on pushing and aiming forward in my life,” said Paul.

“It’s given me confidence, focal points to forget my past and all my terrors, I suffer from PTSD as well as my physical disabilities and so I have panic attacks and flashbacks.

“But the sport and the camaraderie of the whole team gives me a focal point, I have something strive with.

“I competed in Toronto last year, that was the start of my Invictus Games journey. I hadn’t come out of my house for ten years and locked myself in my bedroom, I wouldn’t come out of that room.

“Getting involved with Help for Heroes gave me something to come out for, I was 24 stone and I came right down to ten stone, through training and improving, and then I took on more sports this year which helped me to train more.

“I tried to take my own life and it was at that point where I had people talk to me, I had counsellors come and explain to me about my family and that I’d be leaving people behind, and I then needed to find a way of stopping those thoughts and feeling ashamed of myself all the time.

“It was at that point when my friends came round and said they were getting me involved, that was the turning point for me with Help for Heroes. After having my first chats with them, that was my moment.”

Paul recently competed in the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge, where competitors had the chance to be selected for this year's Invictus Games, set to be held in Sydney later this month.

Having competed in the wheelchair basketball last year, Paul is set to take on the shot put, discus, 400m, 1500m, tennis, archery, powerlifting and basketball.

He said: “Preparation is going well, the team spirit this year is amazing and the whole 72 is together, there are no individual teams inside the big group.

“Everyone has come together and supported each other, all of us here are from all different aspects of the Games and we’re all supporting one and other which is really good."

Jaguar Land Rover is the Presenting Partner of the Invictus Games, which takes place in Sydney, Australia from the 20th to 27th of October 2018.

Jaguar Land Rover is using this year’s Games to lead and inform the debate on future mobility, and how its future technology could help people’s lives.