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A former sergeant major stood outside a business park holding a “Job Wanted” placard after 400 failed applications.

Wayne Taylor, 46, is a veteran of both Gulf wars and served in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland.

He was earning £45,000-a-year when he left the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery in December 2011. But now all he can find are minimum-wage jobs.

Wayne stood by the Chester Business Park in Cheshire with a sign reading: “Job Wanted. Educated to degree level. Speak to me please.”

His wife Laura, 48, who works part-time in admin, said: “When employers see his CV with ‘military’ on it, all they think is ‘thick squaddie’. But my husband led hundreds of men.”

(Image: CASCADE) (Image: CASCADE)

Wayne, from Wrexham, North Wales, joined the Army when he was 16 and served for 25 years. He has worked as a carer and a prison custody officer but has not settled.

He said: “Things have been difficult so it was time to be proactive and try something different.

“I’ve had no response from so many applications. It might just work.” The ex-senior NCO feels he would be ideally suited to a role in logistics and management.

Since leaving the military, he has gained a Level 6 qualification in leadership and management.

(Image: CASCADE)

Wayne added: “If you are ex-Army, they look and think we were only there to kill people. It’s not easy.”

Representatives from a couple of firms at the business park came over to take Wayne’s details on Friday.

But Laura said: “He was offered £8 an hour to deliver mattresses. No disrespect to people who do that, but he is capable of so much more.”

Wayne has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and has seen some of his former comrades take their own lives since leaving the Army.