Armed forces suicide every 2 WEEKS - the shocking mental toll affecting our young men and women

One of our servicemen or ­women commits suicide almost every two weeks, figures obtained by the Sunday People reveal.

Nearly 400 troops killed themselves between 1995 and 2014.

Hundreds ended their misery on military bases over a 20-year period in which we fought battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now victims’ families have blasted defence chiefs, accusing them of failing Our Boys.

Karen Bonsall, whose son Private Lee Bonsall, 24, was found hanged in woods near home in Tenby, Pembrokshire, four years ago, said the figures were the tip of the iceberg.

“The real number is much higher,” she said.

“When you start counting ­veterans who have left the forces, the figure is huge.”

Statistics obtained by the Sunday People show troops most likely to take their lives are male single soldiers age 20 to 24, who comprise a quarter of deaths.

Almost half hanged themselves, while 21 per cent died of gunshot or explosive injuries.

Others killed themselves by poisoning, suffocation, throwing themselves off buildings or from stabbing and cutting.

In 2012 it emerged the number of British soldiers and veterans committing suicide had ­outstripped the number that died fighting in battle.

That year 21 soldiers killed themselves while 29 veterans committed suicide.

That compared with 44 troops who died in Afghanistan , 40 of them in action.

Allan Arnold, 20, was found hanged two years after seeing five comrades killed in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2009.

He died a day before he was due to return to 2 Rifles after leave at home in Cirencester.

His sister Abigail, now 26, said: “That day he came round to my house, woke me up, told me I was lazy, cooked us lunch and had a few beers.

“He popped out and told me to leave the door open, so I thought he was coming back. But he went and killed himself.

“Then there were three other attempted suicides in his ­barracks, one successful. It’s as if Allan had a domino effect.”

She said he had been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder but therapy was not mandatory – and some branded it a weakness.

Britain, unlike America, does not record the suicide rate among former soldiers.

The Ministry of Defence blames administrative difficulties in keeping tabs on hundreds of thousands of ex-military personnel spread across the globe.

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The US government began to collate suicides among former servicemen when it became clear more veterans had killed themselves than the 50,000 troops who died fighting in Vietnam.

More than 100 British Gulf War heroes have asked for help from the charity Combat Stress in the past 12 months – 25 years after the end of the conflict.

It expects hundreds more to come forward this year.

Since 1991, it has received more than 2,000 referrals from ex-servicemen and women who served in the Gulf and now have mental health conditions .

Ex-Wing Commander Walter Busuttil, a consultant psychiatrist with Combat Stress, said a problem was the strong bond between comrades in warzones.

“If anything happens to one of your friends, that attachment can make you vulnerable, or feel responsible,” he said.

Details of the suicide rates emerged in the week a new inquest heard Private Cheryl James, 18, was ordered to have sex with another soldier hours before she was found shot dead at Deepcut barracks, near Camberley, Surrey, in 1995.

She was one of four recruits to die from gunshot wounds at the base over seven years.

The Army said the four ­committed suicide but an inquest into Private James’s death recorded an open verdict.

Pressure from her parents, of Llangollen, Denbighshire, forced the new inquest to be staged.

Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry said of the figures: “This is a reminder of how important it is for proper support to be available to those with mental health problems, so anybody at risk can be identified at the earliest stage.”

An MoD spokesman said: “There has been a clear downward trend in suicides in the Armed Forces over the past 20 years and rates in the military are lower overall than in the UK general population.

“The MoD aims to maintain good levels of mental health and wellbeing and provides ­education, along with easy access to mental health support and healthcare services, in order to reduce suicide risk.”

Hero traumatised by death of friend

Lance Sergeant Dan Collins hanged himself after twice surviving being shot, plus being blown off his feet by a roadside bomb.

Welsh Guardsman L/Sgt Collins, 29, who fought in Operation Panther’s Claw in Helmand Province, was traumatised by his great friend L/Cpl Dane Elson being blown to pieces yards from him.

He began suffering nightmares as soon as he returned to Pembrokeshire from the hell of Afghanistan.

He was diagnosed with PTSD but after ten months of treatment the Army allegedly said he had
recovered and would soon be ready to return to duty.

Over the next three months, he twice tried to kill himself.

He finally hanged himself in his uniform on January 1, 2012.

Riddle of girl with rival boyfriends

Private Cheryl James, 18, died from a single shotgun wound to the head at Deepcut barracks in Surrey in 1995.

The original coroner recorded an open verdict.

Now a new inquest has heard she had rival boyfriends, may have been raped the previous night – and may not have killed herself.

Dad thought of killing himself 'every day'

Former Royal Fusilier Dylan Jones killed himself a month before he was due to marry his fiancée Shan Thomas.

Fusilier Jones, 37, of Llansawel, Carmarthenshire, who had eight-year-old twins, died last year, three years after leaving the Army.

Shan said he had thought of suicide “every day” over the horrors in Afghanistan.

Anguish of boy soldier

Ashley Clarkson was shattered at 18 when a schoolgirl died in his arms after stepping on a landmine in Iraq.

His mum Mary said he rang her at home in Mansfield to just say: “I can’t do it.” The line then went dead.

Mary, 47, said two months later in 2007 the Royal Logistics Corps driver came home on leave and “all he wanted to do was get drunk”.

She asked: “Is 18 an appropriate age to send a boy into conflict?”

He was diagnosed with PTSD but she said little was done. He was discharged in 2011 and hanged himself at home the next year, aged 23.

Mary said: “I rang his platoon after he died as I was angry. I spoke to a desk sergeant.

"All he said was he was no longer their responsibility.”

Angry mother blames Army

Private Lee Bonsall’s mum Karen blames the Army after he hanged himself four years ago, aged 24.

She said his PTSD was part-caused by the death in Helmand Province of Private Andrew Cutts, his pal in the Royal Logistic Corps.

But when Pte Bonsall’s mental health began to suffer, it took seven months before an Army-appointed team saw him, said Karen, 54, of Warsop, Notts.

She said he was put in a military prison for 20 days after going AWOL, then fled again after failing to get the treatment he needed.

“These boys witness things they can never deal with,” she said.