Homeless war veteran, 29, ‘took his own life’ after feeling ‘lost’ when he left the Army and spending a year ‘sofa surfing’ with friends

• Wayne Green, 29, was found dead in a friend’s flat after receiving ‘no help’
• He was discharged four months into training for the Duke of Lancaster regiment
• Heartbroken father Wayne Snr, 52, said it had been his dream to join the army

A homeless war veteran ‘took his own life’ after feeling ‘lost’ when he left the Army and spending a year ‘sofa surfing’ with friends.

Wayne Green, 29, from Bolton, ‘received no help’ from the army after he was discharged four months into his training for the Duke of Lancaster regiment in Catterick, near Darlington.

His heartbroken father Wayne Snr, 52, said his son was putting up pylons before realising his dream of joining the armed forces in 2017.

Mr Green’s body was found at a friend’s flat last month. An inquest is set for June next year. 

Wayne Green, 29, from Bolton, was found dead at a friend’s flat after receiving ‘no help’ from the armed forces

Wayne’s father told The Sunday Mirror that after his son came back from the army, it was as though he could not ‘accept he’d left’.

‘We saw him going down and down. We did everything we could to help. But he had his pride and felt he was a burden.

‘He didn’t have his own place, he was sofa surfing. He’d never speak about his time in the Army, we could never get to the bottom of it. But after he left he seemed lost.’

Mr Green was helped by the Bolton Armed Forces Centre for Veterans, run by Cait Smith and Scott Hawtrey, who said he was polite and always looked smart.

‘We got him temporary accommodation but because of his age he was overlooked,’ Mr Hawtrey told The Bolton News.

Mr Green was discharged four months into his training for the Duke of Lancaster regiment

They also said he was a ‘complete gentleman’ and ‘always asked permission, whether it was to use the toilet or have a cup of tea’.

Mr Green is said to have had four meetings with his case worker from a service to support veterans cancelled at the last minute.

As many as 35,000 veterans could be homeless this Christmas.

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.   

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