A FORMER gambling addict, who estimates he lost more than £100,000, hopes to encourage others in his position to get help.

Martin Mitchell, from Bewsey, ended up in a rehab clinic three years ago after his addiction spiralled out of control.

The 32-year-old says thanks to the support of the Gordon Moody Association, his life has now been transformed but he feels changes need to be made to prevent more people becoming addicted.

Martin says he started off playing 10p or 2p slot machines as a child before going with his friends to arcades aged 16 where £5 jackpots were a 'big thrill'.

He added: "The chance to win money was quite big and then when you're 18 and it's legal for you to be in pubs, there's fruit machines everywhere you go.

"It got to the point where everything else came second to winning money.

"If I only had £5 left in my pocket, I would still play it on a machine as potentially I could win more rather than spending it on something else."

Martin said he would often try and run away from his problems and flew back and to from Canada after building up debts in each country as the 'easiest thing to do was leave a situation'.

During his time at a number of call centres job in Warrington, he admits he would get paid fortnightly on a Friday and often drain his wages by the same afternoon.

Martin added even winning the jackpot was not good enough as he would then tell himself he was on a lucky streak and take his winnings to a different fruit machine.

After 11 years of gambling, Martin says he reached rock bottom when he started considering suicide and eventually found treatment programme the Gordon Moody Association.

With the support of his family, Martin spent three months at their centre in Kent and says he 'learned how to live again'.

He added: "I realised I needed help when I ran out of options and had nowhere else to run.

"It doesn't work for everyone and it depends how committed you are.

"The problem with other addictions like alcohol or drugs is it's more physical and there are telling signs but with gamblers you can't see it.

"There's more gambling facilities now than when I was younger and even every football match on TV has betting adverts suggesting it's a good thing to do.

"I also worked in a call centre which gave away scratchcards as incentives.

"You don't realise it's an addiction as you're just chasing the losses.

"If you find yourself spending more money on gambling than anything else then you're an addict."

Martin spent his 30th birthday in rehab but is now getting his life back on track and hopes sharing his story will make more people think about the effects of gambling.