http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1080292/British-war-hero-soldier-living-car-outside-1-2m-Afghan-council-home.htmlA British war veteran is sleeping rough in his car - just yards from the £1.2m house provided free for a family of Afghans.
Homeless Corporal Marcus Kilpatrick, 31, who ironically fought for the Army in Afghanistan himself, says he has been told there are no council properties for him.
Instead, he is bedding down in a sleeping bag in the back of his aging Land Rover Discovery.
Cpl Kilpatrick said: 'I feel completely let down and unloved by my own country.
'How can they justify giving a family of Afghan migrants a mansion and then say they cannot help me? It’s not like I’m demanding a penthouse.'
His treatment is in stark contrast to that offered to the Afghan woman who lives nearby in a huge mansion, with her rent paid for them by housing benefit.
That case sparked a scandal, as it was revealed Government rules mean that councils reveal in advance the maximum rent they are willing to pay to private landlords, who are duly taking full advantage.
Mother-of-seven Toorpakai Saiedi, 35, receives the huge sum in benefits - a staggering £150,000 of which is paid to a private landlord for the rent of their seven-bedroom house in West London.
The detached property in Acton has two large reception rooms, two kitchens, a dining room and a 100ft garden.
Ealing Council is picking up the £12,458 a month bill - which is nearly five times the rent for a similar property in the same road.
Family member Jawad Saiedi described it as like "winning the lottery".
But Cpl Kilpatrick said he received scant assistance when he went to Ealing Council.
He was in the Army for 12 years, including six months in Afghanistan's troubled Helmand and Kandahar with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and service in Northern Ireland.
After leaving the Army last year he worked as a motor mechanics lecturer in London, but then became homeless after he lost his job and separated from his girlfriend.
And he claims when he went into Ealing Borough Council in west London for help with housing he simply ended up back in his Land Rover.
Cpl Kilpatrick said: 'I kept getting pushed from one person to another, or got told to come back the next day or the next.
'Eventually they just gave me a list of B&Bs, but each stipulated they wouldn’t take anyone receiving benefits.
'They told me it’s up to me to find my own accommodation and then return to their offices. But no one seemed capable of explaining to me how the system works.'
Sleeping in the Land Rover was grim, he added.
'It’s impossible to get a proper night’s sleep,' he said.
'I try to find a quiet place to park at night but that’s pretty difficult in London.
'Every time a car drives by or one beeps I get woken up. I live on pre-packed sandwiches from Tesco’s.
'It’s not a very nice lifestyle. I don’t even have a TV.'
A spokeswoman for Ealing council said the war veteran appeared to qualify for housing benefit, but said his case differed from the Afghan family's because there were children involved.
The spokeswoman said: 'Mr Kilpatrick came in on Wednesday for a detailed interview and despite his last address being in a different borough the Council still gave him advice about all the housing options open to him.
'It would appear that he is entitled to housing benefit and once he finds accommodation he will be able to make a claim.
'We have more than 20,000 people who want social housing and only 13,000 council homes.
'We will of course do our best to help Mr Kilpatrick.'
The Saiedis face eviction after a public outcry.
Topic: British war hero soldier living in car outside £1.2m Afghan council home (Read 2426 times)