A war veteran has told his story of recovery from unimaginable trauma - in the hope of helping others.

Ashley Gordon, 29, from Portland has written a compelling tale which captures his life experiences about how he recovered from the trauma of the Iraq War and turned his life around to help others.

‘A Life Now Worth Living’ is Ashley's debut book and tells a gripping story of how he overcame the distress of his near-death experiences in the conflict zone to become a master coach to help others from all walks of life.

The book was co-written with his experienced life coach Brian Tregunna, a former chief fire officer who played a significant part in Ashley’s recovery and change of direction.

Within the book, published earlier this month, he wrote about his challenging experiences in the military and then as a traumatised civilian struggling to return to a ‘normal’ life.

The 29-year-old also shared the details of how he turned his life around using a number of important life-skills which he believes other people can use to improve their lives.

Ashley joined the army aged 17 and was put straight out on the front line undertaking two tours of Iraq.

He said: "I joined the army in 2005 after I left school and at first I was really excited to do the job which I trained for.

"But I didn’t realise the damaging effect it would have upon my life.

"I ended up in a very bad place mentally. and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in 2008 and discharged from the army."

After leaving, Ashley then started to rebuild his life and started volunteering with Active Plus in 2011 and Rubicon as a refugee worker in Greece and Uganda in 2015 which developed his confidence.

But it was founding his own business, Personal Breakthrough Solutions in 2016, providing life coaching and support to people who have made the wrong decisions in life that made him develop his book from notes he had made during life-coaching sessions with Brian.

Ashley added: "Writing this book after I started my business has allowed me to share the details of the life-changing steps I took to allow me to help others who may also be suffering.

"I felt like I’d gone to hell and back in Iraq. I only managed to drag myself out of a deep black hole when I learnt to let go, take action and move on.

"I now run both my business and work full time for voluntary group Dorset Community Action."

Brian added: “I am very proud of Ash for tackling the extremely tough issues he was faced with and then becoming a shining example for others to follow.

“He’s living proof that recovery from very difficult circumstances is possible if you take the right steps.

"We all have to deal with difficult challenges at some time in our lives.”

The book is on sale on Amazon for £9.95 and from various local bookstores.