'We fought for the country, will this country fight for us?': Homeless veterans camping on Salisbury Plain ahead of Remembrance Sunday

Veterans who claim they’ve been forced into homelessness by a lack of accommodation have told LBC that’s “absolutely disgusting”. The group are camping in tents, caravans and cars on Salisbury Plain – as artillery fire from nearby military exercises flies overhead. They’re pleading for the government’s help, amid claims that accommodation either isn’t available or is “not suitable”. Keith, who served in the Army until 1992, has lived in the encampment for more than a year.

He said: “The majority of the charities are chock-a-block with homeless veterans” and “there is no extra space”. Keith told LBC a large amount of veteran accommodation is inappropriate for people with mental health issues like PTSD because it is often in big cities. He also claims veterans are often placed in civilian temporary accommodation, with people “banging on the wall or kicking the doors in”. Read More: When is Remembrance Day and why do people wear poppies?

Read More: Royal British Legion stands by rainbow flag poppy after Reform councillor slammed LGBT remembrance symbol So, Keith says he now faces another winter in a caravan. “It’s absolutely disgusting”, he says. “To treat these people [like this], especially the ones that have been in the last two Gulf Wars”. “The government has to do something”. Glyn, who is in his 70s, lives alongside Keith in the camp, served with the RAF from 1971 until 1990.

He told LBC he served in Northern Ireland during The Troubles as well as in Cyprus and the Falklands. Glyn says he “was in veterans’ accommodation until it was sold off” and turned into social housing. The veteran, who is diagnosed with PTSD, says after that, someone tried to kick his door down and he saw “things getting ripped off walls”. “A lot of the support now is not there”, he claims. “There are establishments going around now which do help veterans and they try to help them as much as they can, but they're restricted as to accommodation and things like that.

We had a guy turn up not so long back, and he was desperate for accommodation, and basically, was told there isn't any.” Mark left the Army in 2005 after serving in the Second Gulf War. In the 21 years since, he has suffered with PTSD, depression and anxiety which he told LBC led to the end of his 17-year marriage. He left his accommodation and became homeless because “there was a lot of noise down there, a lot of hassles…that kind of upsets your PTSD, gets your anxiety going”.

Mark told LBC he fears the Prime Minister’s target to end homelessness could have unintended consequence for veterans like him. He said: “What worries me is they're going to try and achieve their target in such a way that it's ‘oh, let's just get them in somewhere quickly, you know, so that we can achieve it’. And you're going to end up putting people that shouldn't be with certain people, and that's when it goes horribly wrong”. Mark said he hopes homelessness can be ended but he’d “rather [the Government] take the time to achieve it rather than just throw everybody in a frying pan”.

When he stood outside Downing Street for the first time as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham said: “I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country”. Since then, he has announced a boosted 442-million-pound package “to get people out of the cold this winter and give people facing long-term homelessness a settled home and the support to keep it.” Jamie Coltman is Senior Services Manager at ALABARÉ, a homelessness charity based in Salisbury.

He told LBC they’ve also seen veterans who are “currently working but sleeping in cars”. Mr Coltman says, “rental prices are quite unaffordable in a lot of areas and it’s someone’s last resort to sleep in their car especially with winter coming up… it should not be happening”. The shadow Armed Forces and Veterans Minister Mark Francois told LBC: “Having slashed the budget for military accommodation to plug the hole they created in the Defence Investment Plan, we now see that this Government has also failed to keep its promise to tackle veterans’ homelessness within two years.

“One year on, it is clear that grants aren’t reaching those who need them and veterans are being let down.” A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: "We will never forget the courage, bravery and sacrifice made by British servicemen and women for their country and we recognise there is more to do to better support them. "That is why this government is making record investment in supports for veterans, including delivering the VALOUR Scheme, a £50M UK-wide support service for veterans and their families, helping to improve access to the right support when needed, a key commitment of the Veterans Strategy."

Councillor Helen Belcher, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Enterprise, Regeneration and Assets at Wiltshire Council said: “We always explore the options we have available that we can offer homeless people, including veterans and we also work alongside a number of specialist providers. “As far as possible we offer assistance that is suitable for people who register with us as homeless. In this case, discussions are ongoing with a small number of people who are camping on the Plain to understand their individual needs and what help we can offer.”