How the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal helped save the life of a Hartlepool veteran

Lee Bullivant says the United Kingdom’s largest Armed Forces charity – alongside the love and support of wife Sam – has helped to turn his life around.

As well as providing carpets and curtains for Lee’s new home, the RBL has also provided a specially-adapted £4,000 bike to help him escape the pressures of life.

Lee, 40, says he “lost the plot” during his time in the Army after a relationship break-up and losing two close friends in Northern Ireland.

Three years later, he was diagnosed with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Worse was to come when Lee broke his back in a freak accident in 2016 while playing with his children on a swing.

He spent three months in hospital and Sam said: “We didn’t know if he would ever walk again, it was a tough time.”

While he made a partial recovery, Lee was sent to the Royal British Legion’s Battle Back Centre, in Lilleshall, last year after his mental health relapsed.

Lee said: “Battle Back was life-changing. I was a keen cyclist before I broke my back but was told I could never ride a two-wheeler again. The guys put me on a recumbent bike when I went there and it’s given me a new lease of life.“To maintain my recovery, they then agreed to get me a bike of my own, paid for by the RBL and partly by my regiment.”

Father-of-three Lee, a former trawler skipper, was forced to give up work following his injuries and has embarked on a full-time photography degree.

Many of his pictures have appeared in the Mail.

Louise Price, the RBL’s regional casework services manager, said: “We are all hugely impressed at his turnaround and the RBL will always be here for him whenever he needs that little bit of support.”

The annual Poppy Appeal runs until Remembrance Sunday on November 12.

Lee said: “I would urge everyone to support the Poppy Appeal this year, because all the money goes to support veterans, people like me.”

To find out more about the appeal or the support on offer for veterans, go to www.britishlegion.org.uk/