Hi Sean,
Sorry to hear about your situation, but I have to agree with the comment from the offshore operator , by the time you have completed your CPL and IR you will be probably be 50 and maybe up to £80K poorer and you will be competing with 20 -30 year olds who can give more than 10-15 years service ! Also the exams are very stressful. It doesn’t mean that you can’t fly a helicopter, it’s just that it would be extremely unlikely that you would be employed in the offshore business. However depending on your financial situation and you have dreamt since being knee high to a grass hopper to fly, then you could always aim to be a part time general aviation flight instructor and still keep your main career ,I entered the offshore business when I was 36 and even then I was made to feel like an OAP.
Hope this helps.