Blind veterans seek help not cash

Simon Brown has been offered a job teaching mechanics

Practical help is the most important element of support for ex-service personnel who lose their sight, research by a UK charity suggests.

A survey by St Dunstan's found almost half of 160 people questioned valued this most.

Only 15% said financial aid was a priority. It said an holistic approach helped people rebuild their lives.

The research comes on World Sight Day, which aims to raise awareness of blindness and visual impairment.

St Dunstans said: "The recent debate surrounding UK veterans receiving the correct financial assistance, while important, still needs to call for an holistic approach to care within the ex-service community - which embraces the financial, emotional and practical."

The charity said it presently offered bespoke support packages to 2,832 people.

Some 49% ranked practical help as most important element of support, followed by emotional support (36%).

London Eye event

St Dunstan's President, Ray Hazan, 63, was blinded and lost his arm after a parcel bomb exploded in Northern Ireland in 1973.

He said: "When someone loses their sight they face a long, challenging journey of rehabilitation. Emotionally, they may feel isolated and frustrated by their situation."

Mr Hazan worked as an interpreter after training and rehabilitation with St Dunstan's, whose staff he joined in 1977.

Simon Brown, 30, a former corporal in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was hit by a sniper in Iraq in 2006. He lost his left eye and retains only 10% peripheral vision in his right.

"When I returned home I was traumatised and, above all, needed to be with people who understood what I had been through," he said.

The support received from St Dunstan's enabled him to gain an IT qualification and undertake a college course. Now living independently in Morley, West Yorkshire, Mr Brown was recently offered a job teaching mechanics.

Meanwhile, a campaign called An Eye for Talent is being launched in London on World Sight Day, aimed at increasing employment prospects for blind graduates.

Staff from more than 100 employers are expected to attend the event on the London Eye, where entertainment will be provided in 15 capsules in the big wheel by blind or partially sighted musicians and artists.