GULF War syndrome (GWS) sufferer Dick Hilling has organised a post-traumatic stress (PTS) conference to help victims of the invisible injury.

Dick, 59, of The Prinnels, West Swindon, says he helped arrange an event at the Marriott Hotel yesterday to help sufferers find relief from a condition he says is similar to GWS.

The 59-year-old worked in the Royal Air Force as a mental health nurse for 28 years.

He says during his six months serving in the first Gulf conflict from October 1990 to March 1991 he was forced to take nerve agent pre-treatment tablets called Pyrostigmine and believes this has led him to his current condition.

He said: “When I began taking these pills I could not sleep – my patterns went all out of whack. I then developed a lot of digestive problems.

“After about five years of being back I began to forget things and ended up having to give up my career and driving licence because I could no longer focus.

“I didn’t know what was happening. I still have a poor memory and this affects me daily.

“I just hope this conference can help others from suffering from what one doctor close to me calls the invisible injury.”

Dick believes people need events like the conference to spend time with like-minded people and to educate themselves on the causes and effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He says it was only after retiring from nursing, and retraining in stress management, that he got his life back on track.

Now he is volunteering at Learning For Life, a mental health charity, and wants to help more people, partly because he likens PTSD to Gulf War syndrome.

He said: “Often, people with mental health issues are dealt with in the NHS and those with alcohol and drug problems are dealt with in the private sector, leaving PTS sufferers to fall through the cracks.

“It is important when people are faced with a disaster or life altering situation they get the opportunity to get that help that they desperately need.

“That includes before during and after, this is the only way to avoid PTS turning into a disorder.”

Speakers at the conference included MP for South Swindon, Anne Snelgrove, and PTS author Frank Parkinson.