A BLIND Royal Air Force veteran has vowed to abseil down Brighton's Grand hotel for the charity that helps him.

David Yeomans told of his brave fundraiser after he was among hundreds of blind and visually impaired ex-servicemen who gathered to celebrate the centenary of Blind Veterans UK at Buckingham Palace.

Mr Yeomans will abseil down Brighton’s Grand hotel on July 14 and has already raised £734 for Blind Veterans UK.

He said: “Being 79, I joke that I’ve been passed fit to abseil by my doctor... and my psychiatrist.”

The Heathfield resident and his wife Adele attended a special garden party hosted by the Countess of Wessex at Buckingham Palace.

He said: “I was very proud and pleased to have been there. It was a fabulous day and we couldn’t have wished for better weather.”

Mr Yeomans joined the Royal Air Force in 1953 and served in the RAF Police as a Leading Aircraftman Acting Corporal in the UK and in Singapore. His job included arresting AWOL airmen and providing armed escorts. He also flew in a US B-17 Flying Fortress and an Australian Lancaster Bomber.

The most dramatic moment of his career was his nine-week return voyage from Singapore, when his ship was forced to take a detour by the Suez Crisis and was quarantined with Asian Flu.

Blind Veterans UK started helping Mr Yeomans last year. He was robbed of his sight by diabetic retinopathy, a common complication of diabetes, which meant he could no longer drive or carry out some of his hobbies.

He said: “I loved to broadcast for community and hospital radio, but I had to pack that in because I couldn’t see to operate the controls on the desk and read the CD titles.”

Blind Veterans UK have helped him in many ways, including giving him filter glasses to block out glare and a program to magnify his computer screen.

They gave him a colour picker - which helps him pick clothes out of the wardrobe.

He said: “My wife can’t believe that a gadget slightly larger than a torch can tell me what colour my trousers are, but it’s quite amazing. And it stops me having to call her out of the shower to check the colours when I’m getting dressed.”