'SPLASH' admits the demons of the conflict still follow him to this day.

The former elite soldier from Halton said he still harbours bitterness about the way he and his comrades were pushed aside after the war.

The former member of The 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and D Squadron SAS had seen action in Northern Ireland and in two of the fiercest battles of the Falklands Conflict.

He said: 'I was in the army for five years but was discharged on medical grounds after I was injured by a mine.

'I missed the victory parade and the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, but I know a lot of injured lads who were kept out of camera shot that day.'

'Splash' said that after the events of the war and his terrible leg injuries he became 'unrecognisable' to the man he had once been.

He said: 'I went to live in Wales for a while and started drinking a lot.

'I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder although we didn't know what that was at the time.

'It should be remembered that more Falklands veterans have committed suicide since the war ended than died in the conflict itself.

'I still have ghosts, but I've laid them mostly to rest now.'