Fury over ‘lack of support’
A WAR hero forced to survive on his Army pension feels politicians should hang their heads in shame over the treatment of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.
Paul Tunstill, a former member of the Royal Military Police, with 18 years’ service, is one of a growing number of mentally ill veterans being forced to rely on state benefits to survive.
The former Royal Military Policeman, who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, accused the Ministry of Defence of treating troops suffering from PTSD with “utter contempt”.
Just two years ago, Paul, who survives on state benefits and his Army pension of £800 a month, was employed as a home care support worker and doing charity runs.
But now the father-of-six is no longer able to work or leave his home without his wife Carley.
Paul, 40, from Burnley, Lancs, was diagnosed with PTSD in 2014 after becoming agitated in busy places, a year after being discharged from the Army with combat hearing loss.
He said : “The impact of PTSD has been devastating. I haven’t met or heard of a single veteran with PTSD who has been helped by the MoD.”