AFTER 24 years of service in the British Army, Owen Dykes struggled to settle back into civilian life and was left with a raft of undiagnosed mental health problems.

During his career, the 45-year-old father of two from Elton had served in warzones from Bosnia and Northern Ireland to Iraq and Afghanistan, and had lost numerous comrades in action.

Although he had support from his loving wife and young daughters, the difficulties of reintegrating took such a toll on Mr Dykes that he became suicidal ­— twice coming close to taking his own life.

However as he "fell into darkness" a friend recognised that he was suffering and suggested he speak to his GP.

Mr Dykes said: “I remember the GP asking me "Are you close to suicide?". I turned to jelly and I told him I was one step away from it. Everything poured out.

“Speaking about it was the best thing I could have done, because from that point things began to improve.

"I received a proper diagnosis ­— PTSD, social isolation, survivor’s guilt and depression ­— and I was referred to the Bury Military Veterans Service for counselling, who have been my literal lifeline.”

Mr Dykes is now in a much better place, working as a traffic planner in Salford, although he still struggles with flashbacks and nightmares from his operational duties.

He is also a hands-on dad for his two daughters and a keen runner ­— often rising before 5am to get the most out of his days.

Mr Dykes said: “I would urge anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts to just talk about it.

"I was suffering in silence and just didn’t know where to turn, but once I told my GP how I was feeling it was a major turning point. I’ve found my place in the world again.”

He is now fronting a new campaign to get more people to talk about and confront the issue of suicide.

Commissioned by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, the Shining a Light on Suicide campaign aims to encourage open, honest and direct discussion of suicide and help people out of the dark.

Mr Dykes has filmed a powerful video for the campaign and is hoping that by coming forward with his story it will reach those suffering in silence or contemplating suicide and show them that there is

Also leading the campaign is retired Bury doctor Falmai Youngman who became suicidal after her marriage broke down.

Feeling isolated and lonely she planned to take her own life on a Friday if she had not heard back from a friend she had written to.

By chance she received a call on the Thursday telling her the letters she had sent had gone to the wring address and her friend had never received them.

Ms Youngman said: “Looking back it was crackers, my children were 15 and 17. If I’d reached Friday I would have done something that would have ruined their lives and so many other people’s lives.”

She is now calling people to address the "elephant in the room" and "normalise the conversation" about suicide.

Ms Youngman said: “People are frightened of talking about it, because they think, wrongly, that if you ask the question, you might actually trigger suicidal thoughts and suicide.

"People don’t understand the psychology of what they should do, so, with the best intentions, they do nothing."

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 49, and of women aged between 20 and 34, and the leading cause of death in 15 to 29-year olds.

Statistics show that many men who die by suicide did not ask for help or speak to someone before their deaths.

As part of the Shining a Light on Suicide campaign people are being encouraged to take a 20 minute suicide prevention training lesson, which provides guidance on approaching friends, family and colleagues who could be at risk.

For more information on the campaign and training visit shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk.