A war hero left disabled after a grenade attack in Iraq has been vindicated after a two-year battle to re-instate his carer’s allowance.
Former lance corporal Adam Douglas, 45, who founded the Forgotten Heroes charity, received serious injuries in a grenade attack in 2003 and suffered further injuries in 2006.
But despite having 20 major operations and being left with severe spinal injuries and mobility problems the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) cut the hero’s £70-a-month carer’s allowance – which went to his wife, Maria.
He went to a tribunal last week to get the payment reinstated and after the judgement said: “I am declaring victory. I am no longer seen as a benefit fraudster. My honour has been reinstated.
“As a symbol the carer’s allowance means everything. It is the fact my wife is the carer and she does out of love and devotion.
Adam, of Fearnville, Leeds, served with the East and West Riding Regiment. He was blown up by a rocket-propelled greneade on the outskirts of Basra in 2003.
He said: “There was a compressed spinal fracture, multiple disc herniations, partial paralysis of my left leg, a neurological disorder called cauda equina, burns on my back, neck and arms, spleen, bladder and bowel injuries, general nerve tissue damage and soft tissue damage.
“I was nearly a foot away from it. I still managed to return fire and they were shooting at me, I then ran about half a mile and then it began to hit me. You just expect when you return home that you will be looked after, if something happens that you don’t have to fight for it.”
He went back to Iraq in late 2004, this time as a Ministry of Defence employed civilian providing logistical support. In 2006 he was the victim of a work place accident.
The injuries mean office clerk Adam has trouble walking around, bathing, dressing, and going to the toilet. At the tribunal, he maintained that his ability to perform many daily tasks had not improved and his mobility had got worse. Now he says he wants to concentrate on running his charity, and helping former soldiers and their carers appeal similar DWP decisions.
He lives with his school cook wife and their daughters, Jessica, 16, and Sophie, 13.
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