AN army veteran who lives in the Borders is embarking on a mission to raise funds and awareness for military and blue light veterans in the region.

Former Paratrooper Garry Booth, 44, who lives in Denholm, wants to raise in the region of £2,000 for the FirstLight Trust, which provides ground support for veterans of the blue light services and armed forces.

Garry is living with his own traumatic memories of the frontline but is gradually rebuilding his life in civvy street with help from FirstLight, which has a local base in Hawick.

He plans to run all three Eildon Hills on Saturday, June 29th, which would be no easy task in itself, but Garry will conquer the three peaks twice while carrying an 80lb pack.

Garry, who won't be training on the Eildons, said: “It’s much more of a challenge to go in blind.

"When you’re on operations you can’t predict what’s going to happen, you just have to use all of the skills you have built up in training, so I just want to get up on the morning of the run and go for it.”

Garry, a highly trained sniper, will have the support of another veteran by way of two-way radio communications in case anything goes wrong.

But having been in the military for 23 years - regular and reserves - and being posted for operations in Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falklands, the rolling Eildon Hills will hopefully be like a jog in the park!

Garry is currently working for a local scaffolding company while also still serving with 4 Paras, a Territorial Army unit based in Edinburgh.

He added: “I did think about a free fall plane jump or abseiling from a building or other structure, but this just seemed a bit more of a challenge.

"I want to raise as much money as I can for FirstLight as they have been so supportive in the last few months.”

David Murray, who helps to run FirstLight in Hawick as a volunteer, says the response to the charity opening its doors last year has been phenomenal.

He said: “The national charity has five café hubs in England, and ours was the first to open north of the Border in July 2018.

"We hope to be opening more throughout Scotland in time.

"Garry is one of around 30 local veterans we see regularly at FirstLight in Hawick. Many have adjustment issues as they have known nothing other than the military as adults.

“We are so proud of Garry for arranging this challenge and hope people will support his efforts, not just to raise funds for the charity but also in raising awareness of the issues facing veterans here in the Borders and further afield.”

Donations for Garry’s run can be handed in to FirstLight Trust at 1-3 High Street, the Borders Pharmacy in Burnfoot, or you can visit his JustGiving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/garry-booth