HOMELESS former soldiers should be given higher priority when it comes to being given a council home, a Bournemouth councillor will say tomorrow.

Cllr Phil Stanley-Watts will raise issues surrounding ex-servicemen at tomorrow’s meeting of the full council which he described as “vitally important”.

“What I want to see is for them to go to the front of the housing queue,” he said. “But I also want to see that our staff are properly trained to deal with the complex issues they could be facing.

“I know first-hand that there are a number of homeless former soldiers in Bournemouth and we need to make sure that they are given the support they need.

“The government has been working on this but I feel like we can help here and that there are things we can do better as a council.”

Cllr Stanley-Watts is planning to raise the issue as a question to the council’s cabinet at Tuesday’s meeting of the full council.