A SAS veteran hailed for his role in the Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 has been left homeless after his local council failed to find him housing, he has claimed.
Bob Curry, who was part of the team which helped end the six-day siege after a group of six armed men stormed the embassy in London and took 26 people hostage, said he is living in a B&B after he split up with his partner of 25 years and his business collapsed last year.
Mr Curry was told by Herefordshire County Council to fill in forms for a council house in November but is still waiting to hear if he meets the criteria, The Sun reports.
The 64-year-old told the paper: “I was sat in the council offices explaining my life to someone who looked at me as though I was nothing. It’s hard to go cap in hand to the council and ask for help. I hated it but I had no choice.”
Members of the SAS at the Iranian Embassy in London when two explosions ended the six-day siege (PA)
Mr Curry said the council offered him a place at a hostel but he could only bear staying there for two nights and spent last month sleeping on his daughter’s sofa.
Armed forces charities including the SAS Regimental Association have since helped to find him short-term accommodation.
The veteran told The Sun: “It was as if the society I had fought for all my life had turned its back on me,” adding: “If this can happen to me, it can happen to any veteran. And it is happening to veterans all over the country.”
Herefordshire County Council told The Sun it was “continuing to work with the individual to help them secure appropriate housing”.
The paper says Mr Curry also worked as a close protection officer for Diana, Princess of Wales and served in the Falklands after joining the SAS in 1979.