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THE sister of a tragic female soldier chosen to serve with the SAS is demanding urgent help for mentally traumatised military personnel.

Lisa was found dead in her car in Cardiff on June 9 – but her sister Tracy Curry believes she would still be alive if she had received more support from the Ministry of Defence, South Wales Police and the mental health team responsible for her care.

Tracy, 47, said: “Lisa was failed by many people. No one really seemed that interested in her.

“She fell through the cracks of a system which isn’t designed to help people like Lisa. I want to make sure no one else has to go through this.

“Two days before she died, the police were involved in a search for her involving a police helicopter.

“When Lisa was found, she was taken to hospital because she had attempted suicide but discharged herself.

“She was picked up by the police and taken home instead of being returned to hospital, even though the police had been warned that she wanted to kill herself.

“The mental health team told me she couldn’t be detained under the Mental

Health Act because she had “full capacity”.

“Just last month, Lisa was in hospital after one suicide attempt and had asked to be sectioned under the Act but was told she wasn’t ill enough. Her death was completely avoidable and I am so sad and cross about it all.”

Tracy, of Newcastle, went on: “The Army has a responsibility to look after veterans who are discharged with mental health problems.

“If you become ill while serving your country, you should be looked after by the armed forces.”

Lisa joined the Army in 2000 as a member of the Adjutant General’s Corps and immediately stood out as reliable and super-fit. She was posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and her former colleagues remembered how she insisted on not being given any special treatment as the only female in a 160-strong company.

She joined the Fusiliers to Iraq in 2003 and would later complete two more tours there.

Lisa was promoted several times, had a spell at the MOD HQ in London and qualified as a PT instructor.

In 2009, she was selected to serve in the regimental headquarters of 22 SAS and was later sent to Afghanistan with the elite unit.

However, despite being regarded as a high-flier, she began to suffer from depression and was discharged in 2013.

Mum-of-two Tracy, from Newcastle, said: “I noticed a massive change in Lisa when she left the Army. She missed the routine and her friends and she never managed to find another job which gave her the same rewards.

“She worked in human resources and had a few admin jobs but I think she was bored. She was later diagnosed with PTSD and managed to get some counselling through a charity but it closed down last year due to a lack of funding.”

Lisa’s life began to spiral out of control in March after a relationship failed and her job came to an end.

By the time lockdown arrived on March 23, her mental state had deteriorated badly and over the next 10 weeks, she would attempt to take her own life at least five times. She was in the care of North Cardiff Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team but told a friend it was “too little, too late”.

Tracy added: “Lisa would occasionally talk about some of the things she had seen, but whenever she visited my family, she wanted to relax and have a bit of a break from the Army.

“I knew as soon as I saw the police on my doorstep that Lisa had died.

“I opened the door and said, ‘It’s Lisa, isn’t it?’ but they just asked if they could come inside and then told me what had happened.

“I was devastated and so angry because her life could have been saved.” Lee Smith, 47, a former member