More than 70 veterans in Shropshire are receiving help and support for post-traumatic stress resulting from life on the frontline in war zones around the world, it has been revealed.

Combat Stress, based in Newport, helps provide treatment and support for those left psychologically scarred by war. In the last five years the number of new veterans seeking help has rocketed by 66 per cent.

And an appeal was launched earlier this year, headed by Prince Charles, to raise £30m to provide a better support network for sufferers.

It comes as it was revealed a soldier from Oxfordshire suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has received a six-figure payout from the Ministry of Defence.

The soldier, who has not been named for security reasons, joined the Army in 1984 and served in the Falklands, The Gulf, Bosnia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone carrying out duties including bomb disposal and dealing with terrorists.

He was diagnosed as suffering with PTSD in 2004 – but just two weeks later was involved in a car crash that so aggravated his symptoms he was unable to work and had to be medically discharged from the Army.

A spokesman for Combat Stress said the charity was unable to comment on individual cases.

But he said on average it took service personnel 14 years to approach organisations like Combat Stress with their problems – and last year six people who came forward had waited 50 years or more.

He said: “After such a long gap many veterans are at the end of their tether.

“Social isolation is common, alcohol and/or drug abuse is often seen as a refuge, and I am afraid that this downward spiral leads many to contemplate taking their own lives.”

“The impact of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan may only be seen in the years to come.”

Having joined the Army in 1984, the claimant served tours in the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, The Gulf War, Bosnia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. He carried out duties including bomb disposal and dealing with terrorist incidents and there aftermath.

By Wayne Beese