Twenty-eight staff are taking part in the Severn Bridge Challenge for Helping Homeless Veterans UK, a continuous relay across the suspension bridge between England and Wales.

Employees will form tag teams taking turns to walk two miles across the bridge and back from March 28 to 30, sleeping outdoors with minimal cover whatever the weather conditions. The aim is to shine a spotlight on the hardship facing veterans who have nowhere else to go.

One of the walkers, James**, from UK Power Networks in Essex, is a former Royal Artillery soldier who struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, bereavement, work and home challenges after serving in Afghanistan. This escalated and led to him living homeless in his car for two years.

He said: “When I was homeless, I felt abandoned by the army, my family and my country. It felt like nobody cared if I was there or not. The reason I want to do this walk is to raise awareness that if you are in that predicament, you are not alone. There are people that will help and support you and get you to a better place. I had to do it on my own and it doesn’t need to be like that.”

The turning point came when James was connected with Op Courage, the veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service which provided counselling and support. Now he wants to help others, volunteering as a mentor with under-privileged students and joining the bridge relay.

Staff are taking part from UK Power Networks’ offices in Aldershot, Ashford, Borehamwood, Brimsdown, Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Colchester, Crawley, Guildford, Hemel Hempstead, Ipswich, London and Sundridge.

Anita Boye, who leads UK Power Networks’ armed forces community, said: “As someone who values the sacrifices made by our armed forces, I'm walking the Severn Bridge Challenge to support veterans facing homelessness. It's important to give back to those who have given so much for our safety.”

David Wood, trustee and founder of Helping Homeless Veterans UK, said: “Helping Homeless Veterans UK engages with local authorities to help house homeless veterans. All public donations are spent helping veterans and none of the charity’s team are salaried. Our trustees, ambassadors and volunteers give their free time to helping the country's homeless veterans.

“Thanks to the team from UK Power Networks we have the largest participation ever for this event and with the donations raised it is helping us to save veterans’ lives.”

UK Power Networks and UK Power Networks Services employ more than 90 service leavers and have a strong track record of supporting military veterans transitioning to civilian careers. The company signed the armed forces covenant, has a gold award in the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme for commitment to the armed forces and has a long-standing relationship with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), which supports Armed Forces leavers. They host work experience and insight days, to help service leavers understand career paths available in the energy industry.

**Names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.