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Andy Davies spent a large part of his life as an alcoholic living rough. But eight years after having his last drink, the father-of-three has just graduated from university after he said his time in prison changed his life.

Andy, 54, readily admits that, at his lowest point, he wanted his “life to end” after living on the streets for almost two years and rarely having a place to sleep that wasn’t outdoors.

It’s been quite a decade for the grandfather of five – but one that has inspired him to work toward a new goal, to show other people that it’s never too late to grasp new opportunities.

Originally from Gobowen, on the Wales-England border, just north of Oswestry, Andy left school with no qualifications, immediately joining the RAF.

'I was alcohol-dependent within 18 months'

“I was 16 and it was all very new to me. I’d grown up in a small village and suddenly was mixing with these guys from the big cities. I just wanted to fit in,” he said.

“Drinking was a major part of the culture, and I became alcohol-dependent within 18 months.”

Andy added: “I wasn’t violent when I was drunk, I just did stupid things,” he said. “By 2006 my employers at the Ministry of Defence had noticed that the drinking was a problem, and then I was made redundant.”

After losing his job, Andy found himself mostly living on the streets and ‘sofa surfing’.

But his drinking and behaviour continued to worsen.

“I was stealing to feed my alcohol addiction, and was racking up convictions for theft,” Andy said. “I knew that, if something didn’t change, very soon I’d be dead.”

An appearance in court on a theft charge gave Andy that opportunity. He appealed to the court in Shrewsbury to put him away, and he was given a one-month custodial sentence.

“That was September 16, 2008 – the day my life changed,” Andy said. “I had to be separated from alcohol. I was able to reflect on life, where I’d been and where I was going.

“Going to prison was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

'Desire to drink had left me'

After accessing support services while in prison, and then spending six months at a rehabilitation centre in Colwyn Bay, Andy was alcohol-free. “My desire to drink alcohol had left me,” he said.

Returning to the workforce, Andy went back to being an avionics technician – the trade he learned in the RAF.

But Andy said he wanted to try something different.

“I went to see a careers adviser in Llandudno, and she suggested I should think about going to university,” he said.

“I was gobsmacked. It’s something I’d never even considered until then. I left school with no qualifications and didn’t think you could go to university just like that.”

After completing an Access Course at Llandrillo College’s Rhyl campus, Andy applied to study at the University of South Wales in 2013.

He has now been awarded a 2:1 degree in English, and a qualification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other languages (TESOL).

'I want to inspire people'

After spending the summer teaching English to Italian students at Brunel University, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, Andy is going on to do the Professional Certificate in Education (PcET) in Cardiff later this year.

“Throughout my life – school, in the RAF, working – mentors always saw something in me and told me so. But I hated myself – people didn’t hate me as much as I hated myself,” he said.

“Thankfully, I was able to discover what skills I had, and make the most of them.

“And that’s the message I want to pass on – I want to inspire people who don’t believe in themselves. It’s not easy – but people can reach the heights they aspire to. It takes hard work – but it can be done.

“As one lecturer told me – if you aim for the moon, you might still grab the stars. And thinking about the education, and how great learning is, it’s gives you more of a hit than drink or drugs ever can.”