A nuclear submarine veteran who no longer feels pain after suffering a rare complication of a stroke has spoken of his struggle to rebuild his life.

Nigel Davies, who lives at the Royal British Legion Industries Village in Aylesford, says he once cycled 30 miles on a broken foot due to the condition, which leaves him at risk of harming himself without realising.

The 64-year-old former submariner had his life turned 'upside down' when he had a stroke on his own boat and had to spend three months in a hospital in Faro, Portugal.

He has speech difficulties and a rare condition where he has lost his sense of touch.

As a result of the stroke, he had to sell his home – a 40ft catamaran – which was also his 'life' and his hobby.

Nigel spent 23 years as an engineer in the Royal Navy, and served aboard the nuclear submarines HMS Warspite and HMS Resolution, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer Artificer. He worked as an engineer when he left the service.

He said: "When I came out of the forces in 1998 I bought my own boat, a 27ft yacht called Stroller. I went from that to a 26ft catamaran which I took down to the Med through the French canals and then bought a bigger 40ft catamaran called ‘If Dogs Run Free’."

His boat was anchored on the Algarve when his stroke happened in October 2018.

"I was on the boat and noticed that it was very hard work trying to do anything," he continued. “It was taking me a long time do simple things.

"I got off the boat to do my shopping and realised that something was wrong. I had total loss of balance.

"A friend from another boat saw that I was a struggling with balance and that something was wrong."

He was taken to a cafe and a woman from Red Cross checked his blood pressure and sugar levels, which were high. However, he said it was difficult because he didn't speak Portuguese so everything had to go through several people for translation.

He said he doesn't remember much from his first two months in hospital.

"A friend at the Royal British Legion made sure the boat was alright and when I got out of hospital I had to stay in a local hotel for a month until I could get back to England," he said.

"Everybody relies on family when something like this happens but I had no family to support me. I was struggling with everything, especially my speech which was a lot, lot worse than it is these days."

'Things like cutting your toe nails are difficult. You think it’s a hard nail and then find you’ve chopped the end off the toe'

Nigel was offered a flat at the RBLI village where he has carers coming in once a day.

“I do my own shopping and cooking and look after myself but I have no feelings," he said.

"It’s quite dangerous at times, I don’t feel hot, cold or pain. I end up in hospital with broken bits and pieces, I come off my bicycle every now and then.

"I once broke my right foot but carried on cycling for 30 miles and walking on it for a week before you realise you’ve broken it because you can’t feel it.

“Things like cutting your toe nails are difficult. You think it’s a hard nail and then find you’ve chopped the end off the toe."

He did say that some things are funny rather than annoying – he still has problems holding things and thinks he's put them down when he hasn't.

One of Nigel's "greatest sadnesses" was having to sell his boat. He said: "I rowed off the boat and I never rowed back. I miss the freedom of going where I want and doing what I want.

"You pull up in a place and maybe after a couple of weeks or a month you can up and move to somewhere else.

“My plan was to go south to Cape Verde off Africa to spend the winter, six or seven hundred miles sailing solo.

“You set a course, put the kettle, on turn the music up, and sit back and relax with a book. You can do want you want because there’s nobody else.

“It’s about as far away from how I live now as it could be. The hustle and bustle of life on land. If I could do it again, I would.”

Nigel is sharing his story in support of a Stroke Association campaign to highlight the wider impacts of strokes.

The charity has launched a partnership with Buzz Bingo and are hoping to raise £200,000 for specialist support, research and campaigning.

Buzz Bingo clubs in Rochester, Maidstone, Dover and Bexleyheath will hold fundraising events over the next three years which patrons and staff can support.