An RAF veteran is to represent the UK in an international competition for the armed forces.

Darren Young, from Gillingham, will be one of around 265 wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans in the Warrior Games in Chicago.

Teams include active-duty service members and veterans with upper-body, lower-body, and spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, visual impairment, illnesses, and post-traumatic stress.

The 47-year-old, who runs fire safety company 1st Aid Fire, is to compete in the 100m run, 200m run, rifle shoot, discus, 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and six-mile bike ride, and is waiting to hear if he will play in the sitting volleyball team.

He said: “The countdown is on. I’m really excited to be part of it. It’s an amazing event and it’s going to be a great life experience you really can’t turn down.”

He has been training for the Games with his wife, Melissa Young, who runs her own strength and conditioning company, Amazon24Fitness.

Mrs Young, and the couple’s seven-year-old son, Hudson, will be in America to cheer him on.

Mr Young served as a fireman in the RAF for 16 years but was medically discharged with a bad shoulder and a degenerative spinal condition.

Since then, he has had 13 operations in 11 years.

He does not sleep well and early one morning read about the Invictus Games, an international Paralympic-style event created by Prince Harry.

After applying, Mr Young was asked to join the GB sitting volleyball development squad, but was not selected for the Invictus Games.

He said: “When I went to my first training session I felt like a bit of a fraud as everybody else had lost legs or an arm, but just because you can’t see someone’s disability, it doesn’t mean they aren’t disabled.”

He did, however, secure a place for the Warrior Games, which start on Friday, June 30.

The Warrior Games started in 2010 as a way to enhance rehabilitation of wounded ‘warriors’ by playing adaptive sports.

This is the first year the Warrior Games has been held outside a military base, with the opening ceremony in the Chicago Bears’ 80,000 seat stadium.