SAS BUT LET DOWN BY MOD Hero sergeant killed herself after she was ‘failed by Army, cops & mental health experts’

of 1RRF who served with Lisa in Iraq, remembered her as “something special”.

He said: “She joined 1RRF and was the fire support company clerk. She was the only woman in the company and she held her own.

“Everything we did, she did. Her attitude was, ‘If the men are doing it, so am I’.

“She was effectively head-hunted by the SAS and deployed with them to Afghanistan. She never boasted about it but I know she was very proud.

“After she left the Army, she showed me a plaque she had received from the regiment. It was something she was very proud of. I knew Lisa was going through a rough time. In the weeks before she died, I was in touch a lot through text messages and she was in a bad way. She was getting help but said it was too little, too late.

“I’m devastated by what has happened to Lisa. She was let down by a lot of organisations and this is happening too often.

“I sent her some texts before she died and was trying to get her to call me to get some help or at least talk to someone, but by then she was in a very bad way.

“I received a message from her saying she was in hospital after she tried to kill herself.

“On Friday, June 5, she tried to kill herself again but that failed and she was found dead the following Tuesday. Before she died, I asked her what was going wrong and she said PTSD, depression, splitting up with her partner, no job and the problems of lockdown. I kept saying to her that she would get through this but when I tried to call a few days later, she didn’t answer.then I discovered she had died.

“Lisa should be alive today, and would be if she had got the right help.”

A spokesman for Cardiff and Vale

University Health Board said: “Our thoughts are with Lisa’s family at this incredibly sad time.

“Lisa’s death has been reported in line with our Health Board incident reporting processes and is currently under investigation. It is not possible to comment further until the investigation is concluded.”

Defence minister Johnny Mercer said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of Lisa’s death.

He added: “Every suicide is one too many. There is a range of help available for veterans – including specialist NHS care – and I will continue to do my utmost to make sure veterans know where to turn in times of need.”

South Wales Police confirmed officers had been called out on June 9 following the discovery of a 42-year-old woman’s body in a car in Cardiff.

It said: “The death is not being treated as suspicious.”