A TEAM of Royal Marine veterans and ex-military personnel have broken a weightlifting world record in bid to raise awareness about mental health in the armed forces.

The group of 12 men and women managed to lift a total of 1,190000 kg over 12 hours to raise money for mental health charity Rock 2 Recovery.

Lifting the Stress from Mental Health was organised by Colin Kelly, from Seaham, a Royal Marines veteran who received help from Rock 2 Recovery after suffering mental health issues.

He said: “It’s shocking how many of our veterans have problems with their mental health. There’s very little support available to them, and what support there is usually has long waiting times. Counselling services are sparse and centres where suffering veterans can go are few and far between.”

The event took place in Sunderland in Saturday, when the team beat the record by more than 300,000kg.