PLANS to create one of the country’s first centres for the long-term care of Armed Forces veterans have been unveiled.

More than 300 injured and disabled former servicemen and women will be cared for at the £27m Veterans’ Retreat Village, near Ebchester, County Durham.

The 55-acre facility, on the former Marley manufacturing site, will include more than 200 disability bungalows, a 96-bed nursing and care facility, a leisure centre with swimming pool, woodland walks, lakes and a donkey sanctuary.

Veterans’ Retreat, the charity behind the proposals, has launched its Building Our Heroes a Home campaign and hopes to complete the project in the next five years.

The project is led by former military policeman Bill Liddle, 64, who said: “Each year, dozens of Armed Forces personnel suffer physical or emotional trauma in the line of duty.

“However, after their service and the furore has ended, they are often forgotten and left to face a traumatic journey through rehabilitation with limited and often inconsistent support.”

Mr Liddle, a grandfather of three, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after tours in Northern Ireland, Germany, Belgium and Holland.

He said: “Veterans’ Retreat Village aims to change all that by providing the UK’s first residential and medical facility of its kind, dedicated to the long-term care and support of former troops.

“Our fundraising campaign has begun in earnest and the response so far has been highly encouraging.

“Our model of care goes far beyond the normal scope of care in the community, allowing us to provide a far more wide-reaching solution of care where the full-time needs of our disabled residents and their families are catered for.”

The charity is in talks with Durham County Council and is preparing a submit a planning application. It is hoped the first 20 bungalows and care facility will be occupied in the next two years.

The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland are the official patrons of the project.

Dave Charlton, one of the trustees of the project, said: “It is our mission to offer a care provision for those ex service personnel and to ensure that their post-service lives are fully cared for and supported, whilst being surrounded by colleagues who have shared similar experiences."