'Place of safety' has helped 10,000 veterans

A centre which was set up to help veterans suffering from physical injuries as well as post traumatic stress, depression or anxiety is marking its 15th anniversary.

The Battle Back Centre at Lilleshall in Shropshire was set up in the same year British combat operations in Iraq ended in 2011 and the Royal British Legion said since then it has helped more than 10,000 people.

Former British Army corporal Gordon Perry coaches adaptive sports at the centre and said: "It's a place of safety, it's a place where people can go and find themselves again."

He said they use sport as a way to "open up conversations".

The centre offers courses involving sports such as wheelchair basketball, archery, mountain biking, climbing and caving.

It also offers well being courses and promotes positive thinking and confidence.

Perry said: "We usually see a lot of change in people.

"I always find that the biggest giveaway is looking at people's faces and you see what's in their eyes, it's your eyes that tell the truth."

He was forced to give up a career after being diagnosed with bone cancer and won the first wheelchair race at the London Marathon and helped develop the sport of wheelchair basketball in the UK.

He said: "Sport has been a huge thing for me" and he was now using it to help others.

One of the people the Battle Back Centre has helped is Steve Cartwright, who suffered from PTSD and depression after serving in Kosovo in 2000 and Iraq in 2003.

He lost his home and family as a result. He decided to take up a course at the centre and said it helped him rediscover a sense of calm and fun.

Through its courses he got into archery and went on to represent Team UK in archery at the Invictus Games. He has since re-established a relationship with his daughter.

He said: "The real victory is that I am still here."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.