A FORMER deputy leader of Worcester City Council wants more to be done for army veterans leaving their service.

Councillor Chris Mitchell, a former British Army Major who served in the second Gulf War, says too many war heroes are at "the bottom of the pile" and need tailored local authority assistance.

The Conservative, who was part of the old leadership which lost power in May, is urging the council to investigate new ways of helping them, saying there is a lack of overnight into their plight.

"People coming out of the army often don't have a great length of time in a location and due to all the moving around, they are at the bottom of the pile," he said.

"There is no plan currently in place for helping veterans in Worcester and I find it all a bit shoddy."

He also said he was concerned that an important bash at Sixways in September involving top army figures saw nobody attend from the council.

Colonel Stephen Cartwright, a leading Royal Regiment of Scotland chief who has served in Iraq, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Afghanistan was among the attendees at the event, aimed at forging letter links between the army and the wider community.

The city council has signed up to the Armed Forces Community Covenant (AFCC) a "statement of mutual support" between veterans and the civilian community.

That was signed back in 2012, with a working group coming together regularly to discuss what can be done to help army veterans.

It includes organisations like the University of Worcester, West Mercia Police, Chamber of Commerce, Royal British Legion and the West Mercia Probation Trust.

The city council also says it has now assigned a member of staff to look into the request from Councillor Mitchell.

He also raised his plea during a full council meeting last month, where Councillor Adrian Gregson, the city's Labour leader, pointed to the authority being a member of the AFCC and said "there has been no changes to the arrangement" since they took over from the Tories in May.

Councillor Mitchell spent nearly 20 years in the army, including a stint at the royal military academy Sandhurst.