Suicide squaddie’s SOS as 8 more die in 6 weeks I’M CRYING ON THE INSIDE EVERY DAY...
A HARROWING video blog by a former squaddie has given a shocking insight into the suicide epidemic among Army veterans.
Eight serving or ex-members of the military have taken their own lives in the last six weeks.
Three committed suicide in the space of five days – and all were suffering from either post traumatic stress disorder or depression.
The most recent was tragic Jamie Davies, who ran a Facebook page for fellow struggling veterans and posted a video blog about his own personal torment.
The 32-year-old dad-of-two, who served as a sniper in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Royal Regiment of Scotland, took his own life two weeks ago.
In one video, he describes his PTSD agony and reveals: “I feel like I’m crying on the inside every day.”
He says he doesn’t want to leave the house and adds: “I’ve got no will to do anything. My bad moods are getting worse and my bad temper is starting to creep through.”
Jamie also describes feelings of not being able to show the emotions he feels inside. He says: “I can feel myself really crying in hysterics inside. But there’s nothing coming out.”
Another ex-soldier to commit suicide in recent weeks was Corporal Ryan Smith, inset, also formerly of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Alistair MacLeish, 19, who was currently serving in the same regiment, also took his own life.
A solider who served with Ryan said: “It’s way past a crisis point now. Things are getting really bad and there doesn’t seem to be a day goes by without hearing that one of your muckers has been so low that they have ended their life.
“I don’t know what the solution is but they need to do something quickly. What about the deaths that slip under the radar? It’s tragic.” BRITAIN’S youngest lottery winner says she now has little money to support her disabled son.
Callie Rogers was just
16 when she scooped
£1.8million in 2003. But within 10 years she had blown her winnings on boob jobs, parties, flash cars and drugs.
And Callie, now 31, says her “biggest regret” is not having enough money to give her son a better life.
Blake, six, suffers from cerebral palsy and cannot walk, talk or swallow unaided.
She said: “It’s my one big regret that the money isn’t here for Blake.
“He loves sensory stimulation. If I had that money, I’d give him the Other veterans who have died include Jonny Cole, 39, who served in the Rifles, and Andrew Hollinshead, formerly of the Royal Mechanical and Electrical Engineers.
Reece Miller, 29, was a serving soldier who shot himself while on exercises in Estonia.
Jordan Corcoran, 28, who was serving with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, and Kevin Holt, 29, a former member of the Rifles, were also found dead.
The latest victims are “just the tip of the iceberg” of what one veterans’ campaigner described as an “epidemic of suicide”.
Ex-Staff Sergeant Trevor Coult said defence chiefs were in denial over veteran suicides. The Military Cross winner asked: “What is it going to take for the Ministry of Defence to accept that it has a problem? “When you have soldiers or veterans dying at the rate they are now then there is a problem. “The MoD needs to urgently conduct an investigation to try and find out why troops suffering from PTSD are taking their lives in such numbers. “Failure to do so represents a major breach of the Military Covenant.”
The true size of the suicide problem remains unclear because the MoD does not keep records of veterans who take their own lives.
A Government spokesman said: “We encourage anyone, serving or veteran, to access the wide range of support that is available for individuals struggling with their mental health.
“The MoD has increased its spending on mental health to £22million a year, set up a 24/7 Military Mental Health Helpline and continues to tackle any perceived stigma around talking about mental health issues.
“Veterans can also access specialist medical support from the NHS and the wide range of service charities with which the MoD works closely.” ISOBEL DICKINSON
b■igbgyeSsTt you could buy.”
Callie has previously said the lottery win had made her miserable and says the minimum age to enter the draw should be raised from 16.
She had been working as a checkout girl when she won but immediately gave up her job for a life of wild partying.
In ten years Callie forked out thousands on cocaine, £18,000 on three boob jobs and £300,000 on clothes.
She also gave at least £500,000 to family and friends, but later said she realised some used her for cash. The mum-of-four now works as a carer and rents a £400-a-month house in Workington, Cumbria.
Callie, who says she shops in Asda, said: “My kids don’t want for anything.
“At the end of the month there is usually enough for a few treats. If I want a holiday, I have to save.”
Callie said she is set to inherit her grandparents’ house, which will act as a trust fund for her kids.
Last week a court heard she was beaten up by two female dog-sitters after a night out. The pair, her former pals Marie Hinde, 37, and Jade Quayle, 26, are facing jail after admitting assault at Carlisle Crown Court.