A soldier born in Ghana is suing the Ministry of Defence for £200,000 claiming he suffered severe cold during a military exercise in Wales.

Gershon Rawlings, 33, has brought the negligence claim arguing his West African ethnicity made him more likely to suffer than other troops.

According to his lawyers he suffered numbness and tingling in his feet after being made to sleep outdoors in a waterproof poncho.

In a writ filed at the High Court in London, Mr Rawlings says he was forced to remain out in ‘very cold and wet’ conditions during the two-week exercise with the Royal Artillery in October 2013, the Sun reported.

He claims that the experience left him with ‘disadvantages’ which have limited his chance of getting another job.

When Mr Rawlings complained at the time of the exercise his sergeant told him other soldiers were also cold and he should “man up”, it is alleged.

The case comes just months after Abdoulie Bojang, who was born in the Gambia, launched a claim against the MoD after suffering cold injuries in Banff, Canada, where temperatures dip to minus 22F (minus 30C).

Mr Rawlings, who is now studying at university, says that during his exercise in Sennybridge, mid-Wales, he was not given enough hot food and drinks “on a regular basis” to ward off the cold.