'I drank every day for 11 years' - people share stories of life before rehab

• Watch Charlotte Gay's special report at Chy

A rehab in Cornwall for people with alcohol and drug addiction says only one percent of people who need treatment in a residential rehab are able to get it in the South West - and that's still one of the best statistics in the country.

Chy in Truro has supported 700 people to go sober since 2014 and a national report says we need more places like it.

Scotty from Plymouth has been sober for 136 days. He says he's gone from waking up drinking in the night to learning to care again.

The 30-year-old said: "I drank every day for 11 years. I always had to rely on my dad at 9am to go take me down to the shop just to get my drink."

"I regret everything," he added.

"I regret what I did to my parents. But I regret what I've done with myself most of all," he said.

"This took me a while, but I'm glad that I've done the right choice for myself. It's hard now because my addictive voice still kicks in every day but know that I can control it."

In January, Scotty will be moving into supported housing for people in recovery. He wants to continue his study in maths and English and ultimately get a job as a carer.

• Scotty explains how much he used to drink before detoxing and seeking rehab

Ryan, 41, is nearing the end of his second recovery programme. He first came to Chy when a doctor told him he had damaged his liver beyond repair.

"I struggled to stand up," he said. "I was having constant nose bleeds, I had chronic pain and when I didn't have physical pain I was emotionally distressed and confused."

"I think the last time that I was here, the only thing that that was getting me through was the fear of of dying. I left and I didn't drink for over a year, but I didn't do anything else I lived a reclusive life. I think anybody could end up here if they made the wrong choices."

Ryan now aspires to a role in the care sector entertaining those in need.

• Ryan's diagnosis of final-stage liver failure pushed him to seek help

Access to residential rehab for those who cannot afford private healthcare has become increasingly difficult.

Currently, 1.07% of the treatment population in the South West have access to rehab placements. Despite this low percentage it is the third highest proportion in the UK after London (1.12%) and the South East (1.28%).

In 2021, Dame Carol Black's government report into Drug Treatment recommended an incremental increase in residential placements incrementally.

Anneke Beresford, Interim service manager at Chy, says the waiting list is currently full until February 2023.

She says recent struggles such as the cost of living and people struggling with housing has "had a real toll on people".

"Quite often people will turn to something to medicate them from the difficulties of life, lost jobs or struggling for some money to feed their families, and people try something to change the way they feel and to cope in particular alcohol is so easily accessible so people they find they can't stop."

As addiction and mental health illnesses often go hand in hand the arts psychotherapy programme at Chy has been held up as a method that helps to process that trauma.

Sarah Hall is a psychotherapist and wrote the specific RAFT programme for residents at the cornish rehab which encourages them to use their bodies in art to articulate their emotions.

"By making and using the actual body, it's a step closer to 'me - I - my trauma'. Not just something out there, not just talking about it, but owning it and absolutely experiencing it."

"We did a big research programme with the University of Bath so we have absolute evidence that it has been of value. Of course, we also have the evidence that the big recovery community and people who come back, people who've done the RAFT programme, who now are members of staff here."