A RETAINED firefighter and his army veteran son have completed a “brilliant” charity walk which has raised more than £75,000 for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) counselling for soldiers.

Graham ‘Sid’ Rees and his son Stephen, from Llanfair Caereinion, joined a group of British armed forces veterans on a three-day trek along Hadrian’s Wall.

“The aim is to raise funds to raise awareness and hopefully get the much needed counselling for so many lads and lasses who are fighting silent battles for which there is very little, if any, help at all,” said Sid.

The ‘Not Another Brick In The Wall’ trek raised cash and awareness for The Rifles Regimental Trust’s Care for Casualties Appeal. Stephen, a former Caereinion High School pupil, is a Rifles veteran and served two tours in Afghanistan.

The funds raised from the appeal will go towards supporting the immediate, medium and long-term care of the Rifles’ casualties.

Sid said: “The camaraderie was brilliant.”

“I was part of a brotherhood of people that I had never met before.”

More than 180 people took part in the three-day trek from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend, near Newcastle.

Volunteers carried a brick with the name of a “fallen hero” painted on it which was then built into a wall every night along the route then dismantled the following morning.

Sid, who works as a retained firefighter at Llanfair Caereinion Fire Station, carried a brick in memory of Rifleman James Brown who passed away in Afghanistan in December 2009.

The bricks will be transported and rebuilt as part of an exhibition at a museum in Bodmin, Cornwall.

There is still time to donate towards the appeal. To show your support go to Sid’s fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/Graham-Rees3.