Storm hit veterans' camp 'like a tonne of bricks'

"It looks like a bomb has hit the place," says Darren "Badger" Edge as he surveys damage to the retreat he set up for veterans.

Like many in Cornwall, the former soldier is taking stock of what remains after Storm Goretti left a trail of destruction across the county.

Edge, chief executive of Noon Cregg CIC Veterans' Retreat, said "everything is up in the air" for the community interest charity (CIC) after violent winds on Thursday night wreaked havoc on the Camelford farm where they are based - leaving everything "scattered to the wind".

"It hit like a tonne of bricks," he said.

"It went very quickly. We got rocked to sleep that night."

Edge, who lives on site in a bus, prayed everything at the retreat would be OK by the morning.

However, 3ft (91cm) pegs and straps were not enough to save the canvas tents which help replicate a military environment for veterans.

Also lost to the storm were the camp's toilets and items including the log store, tools and bedding.

It is a blow to the CIC which relies on donations and is hoping to secure a more permanent facility.

"It took a couple of days for damage that has been done to sink in," said Edge.

"When it did sink in, it's quite sad, but we will have a big bonfire and start again."

The free retreat helps armed forces veterans and and former emergency service workers who are struggling with trauma.

Edge, a stonemason by trade, teaches stone work to veterans as part of the process of helping them adjust to post-military life and one of the most recent projects they are working on is the construction of a traditional log cabin.

He said: "It saved me so I thought 'why not share with other people?'.

"It was 20 years before I realised I had PTSD - all it was to me was four letters.

"In the army, everything is done for you and when you come out you've got to fend for yourself and there is no real rehabilitation."

Edge said the storm had not stopped him and he vowed to rebuild the retreat.

"If I get the call-out for a veteran I will go out and pick him or her up," he said.

"We'll certainly keep them busy."

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].