PROBATION officer of 10 years James Bamford will receive one of 10 Butler Trust Awards today after helping an ex-army and police officer who saw a friend shot at close range by the IRA overcome post-traumatic stress disorder.

James, a senior probation officer with Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire Community Rehabilitation Company (BGSW CRC) will be presented with the award by HRH The Princess Royal at St James’s Palace.

During his nine years in Swindon, James worked closely with the former army officer to deal with various triggers for his illness, including the sight of tomato ketchup, or the sound of an Irish accent.

James said his colleagues deserve equal praise for the prestigious award.

“I feel quite strongly that there are other colleagues around me who deserve this, and it is because we have got such a good team,” he said.

“In a number of cases, probation have intervened very rapidly and made some important changes in their lives to reduce their risk of harm to themselves and to the public.

“I have been a probation officer for 10 years and nine of those were in Swindon, so I am very involved in the community with the links I have built up with other agencies.”

James has specialised in personality disorders and PTSD, including army officer ‘JA’, who was traumatised in the 1970’s ‘Troubles’.

“PTSD is about finding the hidden mental health issues,” he said.

“The man called JA came to us following a domestic violence offence against his partner of 35 years, and as a result he was homeless, almost disowned by his family, and had severe alcohol issues.

“It wasn’t until we analysed his history and let him tell his story that we found he had been self medicating with alcohol for 20 years to mask severe PTSD.

“That came from severe trauma after he experienced seeing a colleague shot next to him at close range.

“There were various triggers to his behaviour, including seeing tomato ketchup being poured or hearing an Irish accent.

“What we are trying so hard to explore is any underlying factors that could exacerbate the risk of reoffending or risk of harm.

“That means a lot of work with personality disorders, especially as 74 per cent of the prison population are assessed as having some form of personality disorder.

“There are some very positive things happening in Swindon probation at the moment, including a new hub working in Broadgreen and Penhill.”

The Butler Trust Annual Awards, now in their 30th year, recognise outstanding contributions by people working in UK prisons, probation and youth justice.