An Army veteran has celebrated Christmas in his own home after more than a decade of sleeping rough.

Bobby Jones, 53, struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after completing two tours of Northern Ireland, a 1991 tour of Iraq and working in Bosnia.

After his marriage broke down and he pushed his family away, the Scottish dad-of-one fell into homelessness.

Over the past 14 years, he has spent time periodically living in his car, sofa surfing and staying in hostels.

But 2022 was a special year for him, as he finally hung up Christmas decorations in a place he can call his own.

Bobby was allocated a two-bedroom newbuild in Irvine, Ayrshire by social landlord Riverside Scotland in September.

It came after he was helped with his PTSD by Combat Stress, which assists veterans with complex mental health problems.

He told the Daily Record he ‘finally feels like I have a home for Christmas’.

‘Being in one place is a big relief for me. I feel much more at ease now’, he said.

‘I wasn’t settled before, I was always moving. I feel I’m not going to be thrown out of my home, the landlord’s not going to sell it.’

Speaking before Christmas, Bobby said he would spend the big day with his son, 23, and his two Yorkshire Terriers.

He was looking forward to watching a film and ‘perhaps having a steak’.

Heather Anderson, Head of Service Delivery and Veterans Lead at Riverside Scotland, has said her organisation is ‘so delighted to see our veteran customers happy and settled in their new homes and able to start the next chapter of their lives secure in the knowledge they have a permanent home’.

There are often insufficient housing options for people who have been discharged from the Armed Forces, she warns.

‘We were keen to develop long-term supported housing options for veterans and their families, to ensure they are fully supported in their housing journey after serving their country’, Ms Anderson added.

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