A former Gulf War soldier has reached the final of an international poetry competition after one of his poems was shortlisted for an award.

Jim Laker, of Nimmo Drive, Bushey Heath, was shocked to receive a letter from the International Poetry Society at the end of January informing him that the poem he emailed to them on spec last March had reached the final of one of their competitions.

Jim's poem, entitled All Alone, will now be published in a book entitled Immortal Verses this spring and stands to win him $1,000 if it is selected as the winning entry.

Jim said: "It was just something I came across, I entered the poem and then I was quite surprised to receive a letter saying that I was a semi-finalist, and then another saying I was a finalist.

"But it's a great honour to have that recognition from such a thing as the International Poetry Society - it is a real sense of achievement."

The 40-year-old, who works from home distributing health and beauty products, has written poetry since he was a teenager, and indeed wrote the shortlisted poem some years ago while staying with a friend.

Despite the fact that he has written other poems more recently, Jim went back to the piece and gave it a slight makeover before sending it off.

He said: "I came up with it ages ago and it's just stuck with me."I don't ever think a poem is ever finished because there is always something else you want to say but then you often move on to something else."

Jim served in the army for nine years, during which time he was stationed in several countries all over the world and he also fought in the first Gulf War.

He now suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and believes that writing poetry helps him to deal with his difficulties.

"I don't get out that much now or see people that often so it is a good way for me to express my feelings."Poetry is a kind of personal expression. I think it helps you to come to terms with things and it is also a way of conveying those feelings to other people."

Jim, who lives alone with his dog Roley, readily admits that he often draws from his personal experiences, and in particular his feelings of loneliness, when writing.

"I spend a lot of time on my own so it (the poem) says a lot about me really.

"It helps you to put your feelings down on paper and I feel that behind the writing are my real feelings.

"To a lot of people, it is just words on a page, but others can see the feeling behind it or how the person feels at the time they write it."