MILITARY veterans have hit out at claims that up to 5,000 troops could be discharged from the Armed Forces because they are medically unfit.

A leaked Ministry of Defence document said five per cent of the Army’s 102,000 personnel – 5,100 – were no longer fit to be deployed and could be forced to leave.

But veterans in Oxford said soldiers injured in combat can still perform a vital role.

Headington Royal British Legion chairman Terry Cox said: “I know one guy who was blown up 18 months ago but insisted on staying in the Army, and he now has a desk job.

“His body may have problems, but his mind is as sharp as a tack and he has a whole world of experience.

“This is totally wrong and seems to be yet more penny-pinching from the MoD.”

And an organiser of Headley Way standard bearers, who honour fallen troops during repatriation to the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, also criticised the claim.

Marston Royal British Legion branch secretary Jim Lewendon said: “This seems ridiculous to me. Surely there must be a huge range of jobs in the Army that people injured in conflict could do. It seems like such a waste to get rid of them.

“These people will often have front-line experience and will know the services inside-out.

“I hope these plans are not implemented, because we should be using injured personnel’s skills and talents, not dispensing of them.”

Those affected could include Corporal Tom Neathway, 27, of 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, who lost both legs and his left arm in an July 2008 Afghanistan bomb blast.

His injuries were so horrific he was not expected to live, but he recovered and now works as an administrator at RAF Brize Norton.

Dr Tracey Marr, founder of The Hamilton Project, in Thame, which helps resettle soldiers leaving the forces, said: “Those who leave unexpectedly, for example through injury, may face additional challenges when coming to grips with the civilian lifestyle.”

National newspaper reports said the worst affected 1,500 troops were in line to be discharged first, with 750 following in subsequent years.

The document said “a proportion of those discharged are likely to have been injured on operations” and “this number is likely to grow as operations in Afghanistan continue”.

An MoD spokesman refused to comment on the leaked document but insisted there was no quota for numbers to leave the Army.

He said: “The number of soldiers medically discharged is done on a case by case basis and it is inappropriate to speculate on future numbers.”