Held at gunpoint at 19, father-of-two still living with PTSD 19 years later

Nearly 20 years after a gunman held a weapon to his head during a robbery, Luke Walter says the fear has never completely gone away.

He was 19 and working at a bookmakers in Worcester when Stephen Jackley, from Sidmouth in Devon, held a gun to his temple and a knife to his chest before stealing £530 in October 2007.

While Jackley later served a 13-year prison sentence, Luke said he was left battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety that continued to affect his life for years afterwards.

Luke, originally from Bristol, gave a statement to police before being driven home later that evening, but said the full impact of what had happened did not hit him until the following day.

After trying to get ready for rugby training and attend a university class, he suffered a panic attack and returned to his parents' home for three weeks.

"I couldn't get my words out and I couldn't do anything," he said.

"Then I just had a huge breakdown."

Within a year, he was diagnosed with PTSD and said he developed fears of darkness, enclosed spaces and strangers in public.

"I couldn't do things like travel to London because I'd be looking for danger everywhere and scanning every person," he said.

"The anxiety of being in public was massive, and I just had to fight it."

Jackley later admitted a series of robberies, attempted robberies and firearms offences linked to raids across Devon, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

He was jailed for 13 years in 2009 after police uncovered evidence including notebooks in which he compared himself to Robin Hood and claimed some of the money he planned to steal would be donated to charity.

In the years that followed, Luke said he was prescribed different antidepressants and tried several forms of therapy as he struggled to come to terms with the attack.

He said the condition also affected his physical health, with comfort eating contributing to significant weight gain.

"It affects every aspect of your life," he said.

It was during trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy in 2021 that Luke said medical cannabis was first suggested as a treatment option.

After carrying out his own research, he decided to try it in 2023 and said it had helped reduce the "constant fear" he had lived with for years.

"Medical cannabis is not for everyone, but I think it's fair to say that if I hadn't found it, I wouldn't be here today," Luke said.

Dr Ahmed Shoka, a consultant psychiatrist at the Medical Express Clinic, said medical cannabis was sometimes prescribed for PTSD to help with symptoms including anxiety, poor sleep and nightmares.

He said it should not replace established treatments or be used without medical supervision.

Now married with two children, Luke said he still experienced difficult days and did not believe PTSD ever fully disappears.

"I think PTSD is something that never goes away," he said.

"I'm just trying to work on myself every day and make sure that I'm providing the best version of myself for my kids and my wife."

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