A SOLDIER has been awarded £375,000 after becoming the first member of the Armed Forces successfully to sue the Ministry of Defence for suffering post-traumatic stress while serving in Iraq.

The soldier, who has not been identified, is one of three members of the Army who have been suing the MoD over an incident in April 2003, when an anti-tank rocket blew up while being test-fired in southern Iraq. The other cases have yet to be settled.

The MoD said it had accepted liability in the first case because the weapon system, a LAW 90 anti-tank rocket, had clearly been defective.

Four soldiers were involved in test-firing when the barrel ignited. One soldier lost an arm and has been granted substantial compensation.

The three others were not physically injured but all put forward claims that they had suffered post-traumatic stress after witnessing the grievous wounds to their comrade.

The MoD settled the case out of court. An official said that the incident occurred in a “non-combat situation”. Had the weapon been fired during a military operation, the case might have had a different outcome because the MoD had “combat immunity”.

The MoD said that there were six other claims over post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the pipeline, including the two soldiers involved in the test-firing incident.

Hundreds of soldiers returning from Iraq have been suffering from mental health problems, according to the latest official figures. Of the 1,897 cases, 278 were classed as PTSD sufferers. The figures do not include personnel who have received treatment since leaving the Armed Forces.

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