A former soldier has spoken about the loneliness he faced after leaving the Army, as a leading veterans’ charity warns thousands will spend Christmas alone.

Chris Jones, 52, from Ivybridge in Devon, was forced to leave the Army Air Corps at just 25 after a training accident shattered his left foot, damaged his Achilles tendon, broke his right ankle and tore ligaments in his knee.

Corrective surgery made things worse, ending his military career and the sense of belonging that came with it, he said.

He said it took 15 years and the intervention of Help for Heroes for him to seek help.

Mr Jones told BBC Radio Devon: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the service, but unfortunately, I got injured, and the injuries I had weren’t able to be treated successfully, which meant that I wound up being discharged.

“That was probably the point at which I started to feel that loneliness kicking in, and it gradually got worse as time wore on.

“That sense of team and camaraderie that you get in the forces is genuinely unlike anything else you’ll find, and when you have to leave all that behind, it can be quite a bitter blow, particularly if you don’t have a hugely reliable support network to fall back on.”

Mr Jones never served a combat tour, but danger was part of his job.

“The IRA were active, I had to deal with bombings and such on the UK mainland,” he said.

“And when you work in military aviation, you know you’re going to lose people. I lost four friends while serving and three to suicide after.”

For years after leaving, he thought he was coping.

“Back then, the forces charities weren’t what they are now,” he said.

“People like myself come out and you’re 25 years old, well, you’re too young to have problems.

“It was actually the intervention of Help for Heroes that made me realise that I had problems and needed help.”

He said he was now feeling “substantially better”.

“Still ups and downs, no question, but my life now, compared to 10 years ago, is significantly improved,” he said.

Help for Heroes said feelings of isolation “could be particularly devastating at Christmas, a time of year where there is extra pressure to be joyful”.

It said last December it saw a 77% increase in the number of requests for support than in the previous year.

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