'The Big Issue turned my life around': A recovering alcoholic shares his journey to sobriety

Nick Cuthbert is a familiar face in Truro and now been sober for more than a decade. Credit: ITV West Country

A recovering alcoholic who turned his life around after being diagnosed with Pancreatitis has given us an insight into his life as a Big Issue seller in Cornwall.

Nick Cuthbert is a familiar face on Lemon Quay in Truro and spends up to eight hours a day selling magazines, sometimes waiting hours until he sells his first one.

A relationship breakdown contributed to Nick's alcoholism and he spent months sleeping in bushes, and the stairwell of a local car park.

A life-threatening illness forced Nick to turn his life around and, now he has been sober for more than a decade.

For many Big Issue sellers and homeless people, dogs provide company that's like a lifeline. Credit: ITV West Country

Along with his dog Bryony, Nick lives in a caravan and says the Big Issue has allowed him to get on with his life. Our reporter Claire Manning went to meet him.