Cost of Living: Crawley navy veteran misses meals to save money

A Royal Navy veteran said he skips meals to make ends meet.

Lee Patmore, from Crawley, West Sussex, left the forces due to a chronic back condition, and in October had to give up his civilian job because of mental health issues.

It comes as a survey of former service personnel by the charity Help for Heroes found one in eight of those who responded had used a food bank.

Mr Patmore said he is struggling to afford basic needs, amid rising costs.

"The money isn't there," he said.

"My partner is now having to find what I used to contribute out of her own money, plus the extra that we've got to look at now."

The 47-year-old says he "questions" whether you need three meals a day.

"If you can have one less meal, and you can do that over a couple of days, that's another meal you can have another day that hasn't cost you anything," he said.

"If you can use the leftovers, that's another meal," added Mr Patmore, who has to take up to 15 pain killers a day.

Help for Heroes said of the 810 veterans it surveyed, 82% were worried about the cost of living, and 85% said they struggled with their mental health every day.

The charity said in the year to September it had seen 498 veterans referred for grant funding support, compared to 389 in the previous year.

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