Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen has launched a new organisation to help wounded veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (Ptsd).

The rocker, who lost his left arm in a horrific car accident in England on New Year's Eve in 1984, has launched the Raven Drum Foundation, which helps other amputees and wounded soldiers recover from major injuries through free music therapy.

The group hosts meetings called Warrior Gatherings before each Def Leppard concert, where suffers can share their own experiences and tips on how to deal with Ptsd, and Allen just hopes the organisation will reduce the stigma associated with the anxiety disorder.

He explains, "It's a wonderful way to draw people in - through shared trauma. And the warriors realise they're not alone... One of the main issues is that the warriors won't ask for help. And we are really here to highlight the fact that you're not a coward if you ask for help."

Promoting the charity on U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America, Allen recalled his accident almost 30 years ago, explaining, "Everything's in slow motion. I must have been going a good 65, 70 miles per hour. I landed in a field several hundred yards away, and I remember standing up and saying, 'I'm a drummer, I've lost my arm'. It was very surreal."