LIFE IN A TENT FOR IRAQ HERO

LIFE IN A TENT FOR IRAQ HERO
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DAVID WELLS

11:00 - 08 April 2008
A hero soldier suffering from the horrors of Iraq claims he has been forced to move into a tent with his family after being abandoned by the Army and left homeless by his local council. Lance Corporal Scott Whyte, 30, suffered a physical and mental breakdown and was diagnosed with severe Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome on his return from Iraq.

Father-of-one Mr Whyte was left traumatised after he was caught in an enemy ambush and had to flee for his life after the ensuing battle near Basra.

His wife Lisa, 34, has left her job to be his full-time carer because Mr Whyte, a Royal Engineer, can barely walk.

The couple are currently living in private rented accommodation with daughter Rebecca, 11, in Wellington, Somerset, but will have to leave on May 19 as the house has been sold.

Mrs Whyte said yesterday: "It's a completely ridiculous situation. Scott served two tours in Iraq fighting for his country and they have left us homeless."The council say there is no accommodation for us and want us to let Rebecca live with relatives, while we stay in a B &B. I'm not sending my daughter away and it would be disastrous for Scott as he is very unstable and needs to be in a quiet environment. "We have a tent and I'm quite seriously prepared to pitch it up and live on my mother-in-law's lawn if that's what it takes. I'm at the end of my tether at the moment."Doctors have warned that Mr Whyte will soon be wheelchair-bound because of clogged arteries in his legs, hips and back brought on by his Army training, he claims.

But the couple say they will be homeless next month as the council has refused to house them and the Army has "abandoned" them.

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