AN ex-serviceman turned musician from Petersfield has written a song to raise money for armed forces charity SSAFA after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and homelessness.

Alex Askew currently lives in Crayford, Kent, with his wife Lisa and 23-month-old daughter Katie-Juliet but grew up in Petersfield from the age of eight, attending Herne Junior School and The Petersfield School.

He worked in the area until the age of 22 when he joined the RAF Regiment in 2006 and completed a tour in Afghanistan.

After leaving the Armed Forces in 2009 following a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, Alex struggled to find steady employment and housing – but turned his life around with the help of SSAFA.

To give something back to the charity, the now 34 year old has penned and performed the single Just Another Week with the help of his band The Shadey Scandals.

The song draws on the experiences and emotions soldiers go through upon returning from a conflict zone, and has already been given air time on radio stations across the country.

Alex said: “Lisa and I met online while I was serving in Afghanistan, and when I was released from the RAF we spent three years staying with friends and family and were classified as homeless before we were allocated housing.

“When we were housed the property was in a state of disrepair, and further circumstances led us to reach out to the armed forces charity SSAFA.

“From there the charity helped us get back on our feet. Since then we have become supporters and fundraisers, trying to help raise funds and awareness.”

Alex continued: “As I work part-time as a musician, we have done this through fundraising festivals, featured in newspapers, radio and TV interviews and more. We have since had to move twice but are now happily settled with our 23-month-old daughter.”

Described as a catchy rock song, Alex’s song was recorded at London-based independent music studio Animal Farm and is available through all digital outlets such as iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.

He said: “Just Another Week was written by myself during the tough times we went through. We managed to raise the funds to get it professionally produced, published and released and are now promoting to get the song noticed. So far it has had success, being played on radio stations around the country.

“We hope the song will speak to others who have been through similar problems and we are donating part of the proceeds to SSAFA who are a charity that not only help serving and ex-serving personnel, but their families too.

“It occurred to us that the feelings I was going through whilst writing Just Another Week are not only relevant to me, but any other ex-serviceman that may reach out to SSAFA for help. I’m hoping this song will appeal to everybody no matter what their age.

“We wish to raise awareness for this charity because we believe it is important for armed forces personnel to know where to turn when things do start to get bad, do not be ashamed to ask for help.”

Alex concluded: “So if anyone out there does know someone who has served or a family member of someone who has served that does need help, please make them aware or charities such as SSAFA that can help or go to the Veteran Gateway online.”