AN 88-year-old blind veteran will spend the Christmas holidays with other vision-impaired ex-service men and women at a national charity centre.

Frank Hookham, 88 and from Blackburn, receives support from Blind Veterans UK, who provide vital practical and emotional support to help veterans discover life beyond sight loss, will spend his festive holiday at the charity's centre in Llandudno, Wales.

Frank was a former navy serviceman who served in the Royal Navy for 37 years and at the outbreak of the Korean War was drafted to the Far East in HMS Ocean and later to the Mediterranean in HMS Glory.

The former navy serviceman lost his sight much later in life due to age-related macular degeneration.

The pensioner continued to play an active role in his local community but had to give up driving and found that day-to-day activities were more of a struggle.

Since then Frank has received advice and assistance at home from a dedicated community support worker, visited one of the charity’s centres for training and rehabilitation, and received equipment including a one-touch kettle to help him with the simple things, like making a cup of tea.

Frank, who lives by himself, said: "This is my fourth year going to the centre and I know it’ll be good fun because I love being part of a crowd.

"I can honestly say that Blind Veterans UK has filled a hole in my life.

"I always enjoy staying at the Blind Veterans UK centre because they put on lots of fun activities and we all have a laugh together.

"I live by myself and if I hadn’t been invited it might have been a very lonely Christmas."

The national charity is now reaching out to an estimated 1,000 vision-impaired ex-service men and women in Lancashire who are battling severe sight loss and could be eligible for support but don’t currently realise it.

Most of the centre's veterans completed their service many years ago, and have since lost their sight due to conditions such as macular degeneration or glaucoma.

If you, or someone you know, served in the armed forces or did national service and is now battling severe sight loss visit blindveterans.org.uk to find out how Blind Veterans UK could help.