Veteran camps in Crook woods for months waiting for home

Murray said he had worked with four different housing officers in three months, but felt let down as meetings were missed and promised phone calls failed to materialise.

He said: “Nobody should be fighting to be heard the way I have been for the past 15 weeks.

“The whole process is wrong and the whole system is broken.”

Prior to the offer of temporary accommodation, he told the BBC: “I am looking at building a wood cabin as it looks like I’ll be here in winter.

“I do survivalism as a hobby so I’m used to camping in winter, but normally I have somewhere to go back to.”

Ian Driver, who runs Veterans Response and has been supporting Murray with food parcels, said the situation was “just wrong”, with the veteran “surviving day to day”.

Driver brought Murray a food package every Thursday and said he had seen the last few weeks take a toll.

“From being very positive he has now had enough,” he said.

“This should never ever be happening.

“This whole process makes the veteran community not want to engage for support because they are going to get let down.”

Durham County Council said it provided “practical advice” to veterans, “connecting them with the services and support they need within their local communities”.

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