Gulf War veteran who lived in cemetery is among thousands of forgotten heroes betrayed by our country after years of service

A GULF War veteran ended up sleeping in a cemetery — one of thousands of former troops betrayed by our country after years of heroic service.

Private Toby Southgate, who fought in the first Gulf War, said: “I would bed down among the gravestones wondering if I’d be the next to die.”

He is one of a staggering 9,000 men and women to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan who are now homeless. Another 6,000 are in prison.

As The Sun revealed last week, a poll by military charity SSAFA found half of veterans are jobless and 70 per cent are battling physical or mental health problems.

The study — The New Frontline: Voices of Veterans in Need — also showed many are relying on foodbanks.

SSAFA chief exec Air Vice-Marshal David Murray said: “Veterans quickly disappear. Their problems multiply and they reach crisis point.”

I wasn’t prepared for return to civilian life’

Toby, who spent four years as a Private in the Royal Corps of Transport, hit rock bottom when he spent months sleeping in the graveyard in Worthing, West Sussex.

He has 17-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, and a stepdaughter aged 16. His relationships with their mothers collapsed and he ended up living on the streets.

The 43-year-old, who was in Iraq in 1991, said: “Things did not seem to work out for me in the Army after I came back from the Gulf.

“My kidneys packed up. I went to doctors, but no one wanted to know.

“Twenty years after leaving the military I’m still homeless.

“I was at such a low ebb I ended up sleeping in a graveyard for months on end.

“As I get older sleeping outdoors is taking its toll.

“Now I sleep in cars or I sofa surf at people’s houses, anywhere that’s dry. Everything I own is in plastic bags.”

Like many veterans who are struggling he has been in prison, jailed for eight months in 2013 for supplying cannabis.

When he came out he got a £2,000 loan and set up a business renting out stock cars for clients to race on a track at nearby Angmering.

But, as revealed in last week’s SSAFA report — which interviewed 1,000 veterans aged 16 to 65 — many veterans who have found work are still living in poverty.

Many live off less than £14,000 a year.

Toby said: “I turned over £12,000 last year but it’s not enough money to keep my business afloat and afford somewhere to live.

“I sleep where I can but I can’t grow the business because I have to keep all my records in carrier bags and take them around with me.

“Some of the things I saw in Iraq were horrific but at the time it seemed normal.