A Cirencester military veteran has been selected to represent Team UK at the Invictus Games The Hague 2020.

Anthony Booth, a warrant officer in the RAF, is part of the 65-strong team of wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans selected for the multi-sport event.

Booth isolated himself from sporting and social occasions and became withdrawn from forming meaningful friendships, after suffering years of mental and physical injuries.

However, the Invictus Games process is helping the 48-year-old from Cirencester to feel alive again and he says his family is seeing the real him start to return.

When asked why he wanted to be selected, he said: “Being a part of the Invictus family would also enable me to challenge myself physically and mentally, but knowing there will always be someone by my side.”

Anthony would have applied to take part last year in the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 but while he was receiving treatment for his PTSD, his wife suffered a stroke.

He said: “Family always comes first, she was always there for me and it was time for me to be there for her.

"In a way this would also repay her continued love and support for me.

"The mutual support we give each other keeps me motivated to maintain a healthy balanced life.”

Anthony joined the rest of the team for the first time at the Honourable Artillery Company in London on Tuesday.

The athletes – 89 percent of whom have never taken part in the event before - will now undergo training camps delivered by Help for Heroes to ensure they are best prepared for the international sporting competition next year.

More than 350 military personnel and veterans trialled nine sports for one of the 65 places available on Team UK.

The rigorous selection process was based on the benefit the Invictus Games will give an individual as part of their recovery, combined with performance and commitment to training.

The team will compete in nine sports: Athletics; Archery; Wheelchair Basketball; Cycling; Powerlifting; Indoor Rowing; Wheelchair Rugby; Swimming and Sitting Volleyball.

They will continue to train from now until May in various locations across the country as part of Help for Heroes’ extensive sports recovery programme and role to train and develop the team.

Hannah Lawton, of Help for Heroes and Chef de Mission for Team UK, said: “The 65 men and women selected to represent Team UK will not only gain a personal recovery benefit from taking part in the games but they will hopefully inspire others suffering with life-changing injuries or illnesses that anything is possible.

"Our competitors are proudly serving their country again and showing that they will not let their injury or illness define them.

"As a team, we are especially proud of the fact that 89 percent of Team UK have never competed in the Invictus Games before.

"The legacy of the games is strong and they are providing a gateway for more wounded veterans and service personnel to benefit from the Help for Heroes sports recovery programme.

"We are very proud to be working alongside these 65 athletes and wish them the best of luck as they embark on their Invictus Games journeys.”