VETERANS are rebuilding their lives by helping to restore the Kennet & Avon Canal in Devizes thanks to a joint project between Help for Heroes and the Canal & River Trust.

The Heritage Heroes project is helping the trust as part of a £500,000 programme made possible by money from the People's Postcode Lottery that will make a difference to both the canal and the veteran's lives.

A group of men were in Devizes to restore Bridge 99 after receiving lime mortar training to be able to work on the historic bridge.

The programme of activities has also included creating a memorial garden at Caen Hillside, waymarking routes through the new woodland, constructing a new pond dipping platform and painting a number of the 105 lock gates on the Kennet & Avon canal.

Among those working in Devizes was former corporal Tom Dempsey who joined the military in 1976 and undertook five tours of Northern Ireland. Whilst on tour, he was in a bomb attack, which left his hearing affected.

After leaving the military Mr Dempsey went onto a career in the police force but as time went on he started to doubt his abilities, and day-to-day tasks became more difficult.

He sought help and was diagnosed with PTSD. He said: “It’s great to be around military personnel again, I’ve loved the course and I’ve learnt so much. It’s just great to be mixing with people again, both military and civilians – I’ve shied away from that for a long time but this has proved to me how much better it is for me to be social.”

Mike Lee, project manager at Help for Heroes said: "All the work undertaken by the veterans will leave a lasting legacy.

"The project aims to bring pride and purpose back to our heroic veterans while restoring canals, some of which have been left neglected for decades.

"Veterans returning from service are highly-skilled and capable individuals, with a great deal to contribute to society. Too often however, they are ill-prepared for the transition back into the civilian world. The Heritage Heroes project will equip the wounded, injured or sick heroes with City & Guilds qualifications in construction, health and safety, horticulture and land-based management which can be used to help them identify a new, purposeful career."

Jason Leach, Enterprise and Restoration Team Manager for the Canal & River Trust, said: “Heritage Heroes is such an exciting project for us. It gives the Canal & River Trust the opportunity to work with Help for Heroes to transform waterways as well as helping to rebuild our wounded heroes’ lives.”

More information at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteer/heritage-heroes

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