Lottery fund snub to Falkland veterans' refuge

The former soldier Simon Weston, who suffered near-fatal burns during the 1982 conflict, last night led criticism of the Big Lottery Fund's decision to refuse to back the centre, which would have overlooked the harbour in the capital, Port Stanley.

The Falklands Veterans Foundation had appealed for £800,000 to build a two-storey refuge for former colleagues to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Twelve foundation volunteers had spent three years raising £20,000 to buy land on the South Atlantic islands, and have been granted planning permission. The Big Lottery Fund turned down the appeal in a letter that questioned the lack of psychiatric support for veterans and the cost of 19-hour flights to the islands.