Injured SAS siege hero 'not entitled' to pension

His identity cannot be revealed because of the secret nature of the missions he took, but his 30-year service has left him with searing back pain and disfigured feet and hands. He also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and has nightmares and flashbacks.

The 66-year-old former signalman said: "On February 14, 1962, I took an oath to fight and defend this country. I still believe in that pledge, but I would have hoped I would have been given something back when I've needed it."

He sustained injuries during years of suffering in terrible conditions in training exercises and behind enemy lines. "I'd be sitting in fields for days on end in wet, cold and icy conditions, sometimes for up to four weeks.

"I was unconscious in one exercise but two days later I was back in the field because no one else could use the signal controls."

CS gas was tested on him regularly, and he was a guinea pig for now illegal interrogation techniques used in the Cold War.

"They would put a noose around my neck and drag me around the room, then put me in their interrogation room where I'd spend hours on end leaning against a wall or squat down until I lost circulation in my legs," he explained.

"Today, my hands and feet are misshapen because of the boots we were wearing. We had to wear them 10 days at a time, getting them wet, muddy and cold and because I was a signaller I would carry more than anyone else, and this has affected my back."

He believed he would be entitled to a war pension, but on assessment with the Government's doctors he was informed he was owed nothing. He is lodging an appeal against the ruling, but it could take up to a year to be heard.

"I've got medical reports, I can show all the tablets I'm taking, I can show my injuries, but they won't believe me," he said.

"I'm at the mercy of Government decisions by people who don't know anything about soldiers."