AN RAF veteran has spoken of his rewarding new role in Newport following a "burn-out" caused by a combination of "work and mental health pressures".

During a 12-year RAF career, Andy Jones worked on Tornado engines, joined a helicopter Search and Rescue crew and served alongside ambulance crews as a military co-responder.

The 43-year-old father-of-one transferred his engineering skills to the civilian world, until a combination of work and mental health pressures led to burn-out.

With employment support from The Poppy Factory - a London-based organisation helping veterans find work - Mr Jones was able to re-set his work-life balance with a rewarding new role at Newport-based DMR Thermo-logistics.

South Wales Argus:

Andy Jones

He added: “I’ve been interested in aviation since I was very small and it still fascinates me. When I left school and went to Barry College to study aircraft engineering, all of my instructors were ex-RAF so it started to seem like an interesting career path.

"As an 18 year old, all that was on my mind was training, being able to pull aircraft engines apart and put them back together.

“I served at RAF Cottesmore and Lossiemouth, working on Tornados, then I joined the RAF Search and Rescue Force based in North Devon. I became part of the crew on the Sea King helicopter.

"Every day could be a live situation, from a Harrier going down in the Bristol Channel to someone on an air bed being blown out to sea, or a climber falling off a mountain.

“During that time I also worked with the West Country Ambulance Service doing shifts as a military co-responder in a rapid response vehicle.

"It was a good way to keep up our medical training and develop our skills. In both roles we would deal with a lot of tragic situations and traumatic injuries, which often led to sleepless nights.

"There were a few incidents that stayed with me."

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By 2007, Mr Jones said he was left feeling "burnt out", before becoming an engineer at GE Aviation Wales near Caerphilly.

"We would take engines apart to look for defects that might ultimately lead to engine failure, so there was a lot of responsibility and it felt like a lot of pressure," he said.

"At the same time, my past experiences in the RAF started catching up with me, and things started to fall apart.

“I was working very long hours and coming home to my wife and daughter, and flying off the handle at the smallest things. I wasn’t looking after myself or my loved ones as well as they deserved.

"I was having such bad nightmares that I would stay up all night watching TV, because I didn’t want to go to sleep and dream again.

“In the end my wife dragged me to the GP and I saw a few different doctors, then one of them took the time to sit me down and ask what was really going on.

"He listened to me and said it sounded like I had post-traumatic stress disorder. I was referred to Veterans NHS Wales and I started to get the help I needed.

"It’s very much a process, and it was only after I’d been through treatment that I realised the PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) had been with me for a while.

“I was signed off from work as long-term sick in August 2019, then Covid-19 came along and hit the aviation industry really hard.

"I was offered voluntary redundancy in June and after talking it through with my wife, decided to accept. That night, I slept properly for the first time in months."

Since then, Mr Jones found support through The Poppy Factory, who put him in touch with DM, a specialist logistic company in Newport.

Mr Jones was offered a driver role, which has given him a new sense of pride.

South Wales Argus:

Andy Jones

He added: "Peter and Ingrid [the husband and wife team who run DMR] are a lovely couple to work for, they’re so well organised and committed to their team and they strive hard to create a family atmosphere. Everyone is made to feel like they’re integral to the operation.

“Peter is obsessive about cleaning and makes sure the vehicles are washed and polished every day.

"I wear a shirt embroidered with the company logo and it’s almost like being back in uniform – it gives you a real sense of pride in who you are. I feel a bit more whole, and family life has really improved.

"I’m happy with my work now and I look forward to getting up in the mornings.”