A POLICE officer who has struggled with his eyesight since childhood has had his vision corrected with free laser surgery as part of a campaign to thank frontline workers.

Gareth Judd, a police constable from Durham, no longer has majorly impaired vision after treatment by Optical Express.

As part of its Thanks a Million campaign, the firm is giving away free eye surgery to the NHS and emergency services.

PC Judd, 37, had a strong prescription of -3.75 in both eyes.

For the last decade, he has worked in the 24/7 crime response team, before recently moving to the cybercrime unit.

His job involves responding to incidents of online crime and preventing people from committing further offences.

PC Judd would alternate between wearing glasses and contact lenses, but he found it increasingly difficult to wear contact lenses on 12-hour shifts.

His eyes would dry up and become uncomfortable after extended periods of time.

On cold nights, when acting as a 24-hour responder to local crime, often inside warm pubs and bars, his glasses would fog up and impede his vision even further, reducing his efficiency as a police officer.

He also enjoys snowboarding in his spare time, but his poor vision made it difficult to take part in the sport, which requires the use of protective eye goggles.

The annual glasses renewal and contact lens subscription used to cost PC Judd over £600 a year.

The-father-of-two said: “Wearing glasses induced significant stress that I didn’t even realise until I was gifted laser eye surgery from Optical Express.

“Within 24 hours my vision had improved and I no longer rely on my glasses from the minute I wake up.”

PC Judd Gareth applied for the Thanks a Million campaign which has been rewarding NHS and emergency service workers since 2017 with free surgery.

David Moulsdale, chairman of Optical Express, said: “Gareth’s story especially, with the important job he does protecting us from crime deserves rewarding and we’re thrilled that we were able to offer him this life-changing treatment.”