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A heartbroken mum claims her ex-soldier son was “expendable” and died without the support he needed.

Craig Scott was haunted by the faces of people he killed while on tour with the British Army in Afghanistan, an inquest heard.

Isolated and struggling to cope with life away from the forces, he died in his Thornaby bedroom surrounded by medication, empty cans of alcohol and benefit sanction letters from the DWP.

Now his mother Denise has blasted the Government’s failure to support her son and called for action to help others.

“It’s too late for Craig, but all I want is more support for army personnel,” she said.

“When they need it, they need it. They are trained not to be weak and ask for help. But it’s not weak.

“They have been in traumatic situations. They have seen things we can’t even imagine.

“He saw atrocities. It made his mark on him - and he never got over it, never.”

Mrs Scott discovered her 35-year-old former serviceman son in his bedroom at her home at Havilland Road on July 15.

He had “overloaded” on medication - prescribed for epilepsy, depression and back pain - without intending to kill himself, Teesside Coroner’s Court heard on Monday.

Alongside frequent seizures that left him in A&E, he struggled to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and would lock himself away in his bedroom.

“This is anger - because this didn’t need to happen,” said Mrs Scott, who is speaking out to help prevent a repeat of her son’s struggle.

“He was haunted. Craig kept seeing the faces of six people he had to kill while he was in Afghanistan.

“This played really heavily on him. He couldn’t get counselling. The nearest he could get it was Durham.

“I just don’t understand why they can’t make it easily accessible for these servicemen.

“It’s not just Craig. It’s others as well.”

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The dinner lady said she blames Government cutbacks for the lack of support: “They have cut it all back.

“Craig is one of their expendables - people who have had to pay for it. That’s the way I feel.

“Craig wouldn’t say a bad word against the army. And I’m not criticising the army.

“I am just saying get the help for your personnel. Fight for it.”

At Mr Scott’s inquest, assistant coroner Jo Wharton ruled out suicide and concluded he died as a result of “misadventure”.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to the wellbeing of our service personnel, whether serving or former, and the vast majority of those leaving transition successfully into civilian life.

“We recognise that a small number of veterans struggle, and that is why we work across Government and with charity partners to provide a comprehensive package of support.

“This support includes: the Armed Forces Covenant; the Veteran’s Gateway; and the instigation of a cross-Government Veterans Board later this year.”