Former British and Irish Lions rugby captain Gareth Thomas reveals that he "lives with HIV"

Former Wales rugby skipper Gareth Thomas admitted that he had "been living with HIV for years," but vowed that it would not prevent him from living fully.

The 45-year-old made the revelation on Twitter after also being made public in the Sunday mirror newspaper.

"I want to share my secret with you, why, because it's up to me to say it, not the evils that threaten to tell you before me.

"I'm living with HIV Now you have this information that makes me extremely vulnerable, but it does not make me weak.

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"Now, even though I was forced to tell you that, I chose to fight to educate."

Thomas, a Lions captain in the 2005 All Blacks Test Series in New Zealand, said the diagnosis would not slow him down.

He declared that he was participating Sunday in Tenby "in the toughest Ironman of the world".

Thomas said the Sunday mirror he had been living with HIV for years, but once diagnosed, he "feared that people would judge me and treat me like a leper for lack of knowledge".

"I was in a dark place, feeling suicidal.I thought about driving to the top of a cliff."

But he said that he had strong support and that he believed that expressing himself could help others.

"Many people live in fear and shame at being infected with HIV, but I refuse to be a part of it now, we need to overcome stigma once and for all.

"I speak because I want to help others and make a difference."

He must discuss his diagnosis in a BBC documentary Wednesday.

A BBC According to the report, Thomas takes a single tablet every morning for HIV and undergoes blood tests every six months.

Thanks to advances in medicine, HIV-positive people could lead a long and busy life, he said.

Thomas, a back or wing, won 100 selections for Wales between 1995 and 2007 and played three tests with the Lions.

He stated that he was gay in 2009 – shortly before signing up for a professional rugby league career.