A BLACKBURN man is on his way to fulfilling his dream of becoming a helicopter pilot after overcoming his stammer.

George Oxley, 22, from Pleasington, suffered with the speech inpediment from a young age but has successfully got it under control.

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The former Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School pupil joined the McGuire Speech Therapy programme last October, and is on the path to becoming an articulate and eloquent speaker.

The programme taught the former Loughborough University Economics student breathing techniques and saying a couple of words per breath.

The speech improvement gave the specialist construction builder the confidence to gain a place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Surrey.

Mr Oxley said that the physical aspects of the stammer were the tip of the iceberg, and the physiological side was much harder to beat.

He said: “Accepting the stammer was the first step into combatting it.

“I always new I had it, but I would never tell anyone and I would try to avoid saying certain words or even speaking at all.

“It was very hard, if I stuttered on a word and I would get stuck, it felt like everyone was staring at me and it made everything much worse.

“It would get very embarrassing and I would feel angry and upset.

“But now I feel so much more confident and the programme has helped completely change my life.”

Around one in 100 adults in the UK suffer from a stammer or ‘stuttering’, which involves syllables and sounds being involuntary repeated or words ‘getting stuck’.

It usually occurs at the beginning of speech development as a child and can continue into adult life.

Mr Oxley said: “Being a helicopter pilot officer means you’re the parent of other pilots in the army.

“They need to be a leader and have control, which means being able to speak confidently.

“I am well on my way of doing this now and I’m so happy I have been able to conquer something that has affected me for a large part of my life.

“My parents are very proud of me and they are pleased I will get to do something I love.”