A FORMER soldier who completed two tours in Iraq has been left stunned by Army demands to return overpaid wages more than a year after his service ended.

Gareth Bebb, age 24, of Norris Street, Orford, spent five years with the Army driving and operating guns on tanks.

His career included two spells in Iraq before he left in March 2008.

However, a year later he received a letter from the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency that said, because of internal problems with payroll transactions, Gareth had been overpaid £1,351 in operational allowance.

Despite the agency admitting to the error and apologising, it also requested that a cheque to clear the sum be sent immediately, or a plan for monthly instalments be set up.

He said: “I worked hard for the Army and did everything I could for them in a job where you risk your life.

“Now I’m being treated like a nobody after they’ve admitted this is their mistake.”

Gareth says he did not notice the overpayment because at the time he was in hospital for three weeks due to an infection from a parasitic sand fly picked up on duty. He assumed the cash had stacked up because he had not spent any money during that time.

Now working for British Gas, Gareth recently bought a house with girlfriend Claire and says all their money has gone into planning a wedding for 2011.

The couple say they cannot afford the payment, but after 12 months of silence a letter received last Tuesday threatened legal action from the Army, unless the money is repaid by Friday.

Claire, aged 24, said: “The first letter was just heartbreaking.

“The worst thing is he has gone to fight for his country and risked his life and he just gets a kick in the teeth.”

However, in the letter dated March 2009, a spokesman for the debt management team said the money can be reclaimed according to Government accounting regulations.

He said: “Good faith alone is not sufficient defence.

“Proceedings to recover overpayments can be instituted within six years of discovery of the mistake.”