A WAR hero who turned his life round after a devastating illness left him suicidal is on the gold trail at the Paralympics in Brazil this summer.

Phil Eaglesham, of Taunton, is representing Ireland in the shooting at Rio de Janeiro five years after contracting Q fever, an airborne bacteria, while in Afghanistan with 40 Commando Royal Marines.

Although he has undergone treatment, the former corporal's condition continues to deteriorate.

He said: "There's no real prognosis apart from deterioration, so we don’t know where the future lies, but sport has really given me an outlook on to doing something positive."

Phil was introduced to shooting at the US Marine Corp Warrior Trials in 2012, where he won silver.

He said: “Not being able to play with my children affects me more than I could ever explain.

"Even things like playing with Lego or building a jigsaw puzzle can be difficult. I get tired and frustrated very quickly.”

Phil and his family have a constant struggle to manage the long-term physical and physiological impacts of the illness, as they don't know how much further it will worsen.

He said: "Just over a year ago I tried to take my own life. I’d just had enough of the deterioration and the impact it was having on my wife, the kids, others around me. It’s difficult to talk about it, but it’s good to talk about it.”

Phil has found that while his illness continues to decline, his shooting scores are improving all the time and the sport has given him the opportunity to compete, a natural instinct for the former Royal Marine.

He added: "Rather than just sitting in the house all day resting, I feel normal. It gives me a sense of being a Marine again. It takes me back to who I was.”

His main drive to be selected for Rio 2016 was to be a good example to his children and make his wife proud, to show them you should never give up and incredible things can still be achieved, even if life doesn’t happen quite how you'd expect.

Phil said: "Help for Heroes has been at the forefront of helping me move my sport from a hobby to growing into a professional athlete.

"The support they provide and the knowledge that there are genuine people out there who really want to help."

Jayne Kavanagh, of Help for Heroes Sports Recovery, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be on this journey with Phil and his family.

"It’s wonderful to see how much he has progressed in his sport and the impact this has had on his life more broadly in recent months.”