A SURVIVOR of the Tunisian terrorist attack has told how he is still suffering the psychological impact almost three years on – as he prepares to remember those who died at a ceremony today.

Former soldier Steve Walls, 69, from Malton, who is attending the dedication of a National Memorial to British Victims of Overseas Terrorism at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, has also spoken in detail for the first time about his horrific experiences during the atrocity in June 2015.

He said he was diagnosed as suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder several months after the attack, in which gunman Seifeddine Rezgui killed 38 people, including 30 British tourists.

He said he had undergone 20 counselling sessions to help him come to terms with his experiences.

“I get flashbacks and never a day goes by without me being back on that beach,” he said, fighting back tears.

“I can’t think how many times I have cried.

“I think you are never cured of something like that – but you can be taught how to manage the condition.”

He said today’s service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, attended by Prince Charles and hosted by Minister for Defence People and Veterans, Tobias Ellwood, whose brother was killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, would be a painful experience but one he felt he had to undergo.

He said he was also determined one day to return to the hotel and beach where the attack happened, and re-walk his footsteps from that day, when he tended to the wounded as he searched desperately for his missing wife Jacqui.

“It will be tough but it’s about finding closure,” he said.