The moment two Sussex men see colour for the first time

Mark Fletcher, 33, from Lancing and Paul Hill, 41, from Friston, both found out they were colour blind during childhood, making everything blend into a kind of “mud” or brown colour.

But thanks to special glasses made by American company Enchroma, they were finally able to enjoy colours in all their vibrancy for the first time.

Mark Fletcher from Lancing found out he was colour blind at the age of 5

Standing side by side in the Old Steine Gardens, Brighton, Mark and Paul tried the glasses on for the first time, and it led to a truly incredible reaction.

“I’m never going to take these off,” said Mark.

Despite living in Sussex all his life, Mark said he had never been able to enjoy the lush green of trees and the stunning vibrancy of colours that can be experienced on a trip to the South Downs.

He said: “The biggest difference is just plants and organic things. I just went over to a tree and it was covered in moss.

“Before, I would have just thought it was a standard tree with brown bark but now, going up close and seeing all the different types of moss was just mindblowing.

“When I was driving through the Downs, my partner pointed out the complexities in the colour of the field, but I had no idea what she was seeing. But today, I have seen all those variations of green that I have never seen before.”

Mark found out he was colour blind at the age of five after confusing colours while drawing at school.

Paul Hill from Friston found out he was colour blind at the age of ten

He said: “I coloured in Goldilocks and the Three Bears in green rather than brown, and I had no idea that was wrong.

“I had meningitis when I was a baby and my parents through maybe the colour-blindness was an effect of that. It was and it was also a genetic thing from my grandparents.”

EnChroma glasses contain specially engineered optical filters that enhance the clarity, vibrancy, range of colours, colour discrimination and detail and depth perception for the colour blind, without compromising the colours they already see well.

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Paul said he was “blown away” after being able to experience the colour purple for the first time.

He said: “The funny thing is when you are colour blind, it isn’t like you can’t see anything, the colours are just a lot duller.

“So, for everyday life, it will just be really cool to see all the nuances in the colour that I couldn’t before. Now, especially seeing purples and blue, it’s just a really nice feeling.”

Paul, who works as a financial adviser, found out he was colour blind at the age of ten and he says he was refused jobs because of his condition.

He said: “I wanted to join the military when I was a teenager, especially the Air Force and there’s lots of trades you can have in the Air Force. I think I had a choice of four or five, but I couldn’t get any of them.

“I also looked at joining the fire brigade and I couldn’t pass their colour blindness test.”

According to research by Enchroma, one in 12 men (eight per cent) and one in 200 women (five per cent) are colour blind – 350 million in the world and almost three million in the UK alone, including Prince William, Eddie Redmayne, Rod Stewart and many others.

While people with normal colour vision see more than one million hues and colours, the red-green colour blind only see an estimated ten per cent of hues and shades.