A former drug addict, who now uses his past to help others on the road to recovery, has won a national award.

Andrew Gilmour, 42, came to Sheerness after a stint in rehab and it was while living in the High Street he found his new calling.

Mr Gilmour, originally from Glasgow, started sniffing glue at the age of six.

His habits developed onto progressively stronger substances, from Valium to cannabis, amphetamines and then heroin and crack cocaine.

He was locked up for the first time at the age of 15 and he returned to prison on other occasions for assault, theft, robbery and drugs.

In the past 18 months he has turned his life around after achieving a certificate in community justice from K College in Folkestone.

He now works for KCA UK as a full time recovery worker where he says, “my past has become my biggest asset”. He offers support to people with drug and alcohol problems and helps them into education.

TV presenter Myleene Klass handed him the Further Education Learner of the Year trophy at the City & Guilds’ Lion Awards, in recognition of how far he has come.

Mr Gilmour, who now lives in Gillingham, said: “I arrived in Sheerness in February 2011. I had just come from rehab in Weston-super-Mare. I wanted to go somewhere and be anonymous. Nobody knew me in Kent so that is where I decided to go.

“School was something I never really did as a kid. I never got any education. The only education I’ve ever really had is in the last year. I just got to a stage where I was dying. My health was really bad. Hospital had become my second home. If I wasn’t sleeping in doorways, I was in hospital.”

He said outreach workers believing in him when he was homeless is the reason he wants to help others.

Sally Duncan, tutor at K College, said: “Andrew truly deserves this award. We were all blown away by his commitment and everything he overcame.

“He is a role model to other people and such a wonderful motivation. We are so proud of him.”