1:04PM, Wed Nov 7, 2012

Fast Track To Recovery: Army Hero Uses Motorsport To Combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

By India Adams Location: North Yorkshire

Video: Military Cross recipient Cpl Sarah Bushbye on the racetrack

An army medic who was awarded the Military Cross has taken up motorsport to help in her fight against post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cpl Sarah Bushbye is the third woman in military history to receive the gallantry medal for her bravery during a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan in November 2010.

Since returning home the 28-year-old from North Tyneside has been receiving treatment for PTSD at Phoenix House Recovery Centre in Catterick Garrison.

As part of her rehabilitation Sarah took part in the track day at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire organised by charity Mission Motorsport, which helps veterans recover.

Sarah now hopes to become part of the Mission Motorsport race team in the Max-5 championship in 2013.

She said: “I found it really hard to adjust to normal life when I came back from Afghanistan. At first I thought I was OK, but then I started to feel anxious all of the time.

“I was finding it difficult to sleep and when I was sleeping I was having really bad nightmares.

“I didn’t think much of it at first because a lot of people have that experience, but then my family started to notice that I was becoming quiet and withdrawn and my confidence was really low.

“PTSD isn’t easy to diagnose and is still something that people are reluctant to talk about. I definitely think we need to raise more awareness of it so that people aren’t suffering in silence."

Jon Earp, Development Manager for Mission Motorsport, said: “The whole point of the experience day is to put them in a car and give them a little bit of confidence in trying something different.

“The dream is to put Sarah on the grid here at Croft in front of her family and friends racing against experienced drivers.

“It’s a bit of a fairy tale and I’ve got no doubt she’ll make it, but once she’s in that car the only person who can drive it is her.”