Seaton Delaval councillors raise £1,000 for army veterans doing The Great Tommy Sleep Out

The sleep out was designed to challenge people to brave the elements and spend a night outside to give them an idea of what many homeless veterans face – while raising money to help them.

Parish councillor Rob Forsyth and his partner, county councillor Eve Chicken, both of Seghill with Seaton Delaval Ward, took on the challenge together after seeing The Great Tommy Sleep Out on Facebook.

They pitched a tent at the war memorial at Seghill Institute and stayed from midday until 8am.

Rob, who was in the army for six years before being medically discharged, decided to brave the elements and sleep on a frosty cot bed, while Eve slept in the tent. They started with the goal of raising £100 but raised an unexpected £1,000 in the end, thanks to support from their community.

Rob said: "It was just amazing the amount of support we've got. Absolutely amazing. I think when it comes to veterans and veteran services, it's something that touches people's hearts a bit.”

After settling down in Seaton Delaval following his discharge, Rob has been involved with Armed Forces charities, the Remembrance Sunday service and set up an Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Cub for Seaton Valley in 2023, knowing how important it is for veterans.

He added: “Everyone thinks homelessness is sleeping on the streets and it's not. The beginning stages of homelessness for veterans is sofa surfing because the guys will have a relationship breakdown or their mental health from their PTSD will kick in. Then they lose their home through whatever means so they start using their network but they burn it up at the same time. They’ll sleep on someone's sofa and then when they get told you can't stay here anymore they'll move on to the next person and it gets to the point where they've burnt up their social circle.

“That’s when you can intervene – at the beginning of that rather than at a late stage when they are on the streets.”