麻豆社

Former gambling addict John Wade can trace the origins of his addiction back more than four decades to when he was just seven years odl, being drawn in to playing a fruit machine on holiday.

John says most children would keep the cash and "head to the nearest sweet shop", but he felt compelled to put all the money back into the slot machine next to it and "promptly lost the lot".

The 54-year-old, from Thurmaston in Leicestershire, says his "progressive addiction" saw him gambling for 46 years.

John, who describes himself as a "recovering compulsive liar", told 麻豆社 Leicester's Emma Caldwell why he's encouraging others to seek help like he eventually did from a new NHS service.

Details of the NHS service John used can be found by searching for NHS East Midlands Gambling Harm Service online.
There is also information on support for all kinds of addiction on the 麻豆社 Actionline website bbc.co.uk/actionline