An East Anglian ex-RAF Officer is in the final stages of training for his pending sponsored run during Flora's London Marathon in the hope of raising £64,000 to fund the development of a new treatment for veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The unique new treatment delivers a six month programme involving 28 days of PTSD Recovery Training followed by five months of social rehabilitation which may include re-housing for homelessness, drug and alcohol rehab and other social inclusion programmes.

The campaign has been launched by social inclusion charity P3 to raise money to fund the development of a new treatment for combat related PTSD, which in pilot tests delivered an 80% success rate within the first 28 days.

Cambridgeshire based ex-forces Officer Steve Bradbury has taken on the challenge to run the London Marathon on the 13^th April through which he hopes to raise the first milestone of £64,000 for P3. This money is needed to complete the final development of the treatment programme and enable P3 to prepare for a larger pilot scheme, which will be independently assessed.

The ‘Once is enough’ campaign is being supported by ‘King of the Jungle’ Christopher Biggins, ex SAS and TV personalities Bear Grylls and Major Ken Hames (Ken has suffered for many years with PTSD) and Britain’s first female fast jet pilot Jo Salter.

The campaign is also receiving support from businesses in the region, including Norwich-based PR agency Media Jems, who has offered its services free of charge to raise awareness of the ‘Once is enough’ campaign.

“My husband was posted to Helmand province with the Royal Anglian’s last year and so this campaign is also very personal to me. We were delighted to help Steve and all the team at P3 to raise awareness of this very worthwhile cause and to encourage everyone to sponsor Steve at the London Marathon” explains Jenna Gould, director of Media Jems.

 30,000 British personnel served in the Falklands war and as many as 2,700 of these veterans could now be suffering from delayed onset PTSD. But it is the wider impact of PTSD that is most alarming. Over 300 Falklands veterans have committed suicide (more than were killed in combat) and it is estimated that there are over 6,000 veterans in the prison system and a further 12,000 without a permanent residence.

 

In addition to this, over 130,000 British service personnel have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and this his means that soon, we may see a further 12,000 service personnel and veterans develop PTSD.

“Once is enough is a pioneering campaign and we must do all we can to support all the brave men and women who are risking their lives for us in combat and need our help.  Sponsoring Steve Bradbury at the London Marathon is something that everyone can do to make a real difference to those servicemen and women who are affected by the nightmare of PTSD,” adds Christopher Biggins.

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For more information on the ‘Once is enough’ campaign visit www.knuckledownforheroes.com or to sponsor Steve Bradley at the forthcoming London Marathon, visit www.justgiving.com/SteveBradbury.