A FALKLANDS war hero has warned military families across Oxfordshire will suffer after Britain’s defence budget was cut by £3.6bn.

Former Welsh Guardsman Simon Weston said the armed forces were vital to the county’s economy and the cuts would be felt on both the frontline and at home.

Mr Weston, who suffered 46 per cent burns to his body when a landing ship was bombed during the Falkland conflict in 1982, made his comments while visiting an Oxford school.

On Monday, Prime Minister David Cameron announced an eight per cent cut to the £46.1bn defence budget, with the loss of 42,000 jobs over the next five years.

The armed forces are the biggest employer in the county, ahead of Oxfordshire County Council.

Mr Weston, 49, said: “If you take the military out of Oxfordshire, the economy will collapse. It’s a vital part of the county in so many ways.

“My biggest fear with the defence cuts is that they will hit those people on the front line and their ability to do their jobs.

“But if that happens, it won’t just be those in theatre who will be affected, it will also be their families sitting at home.

“Families across Oxfordshire will suffer, I have no doubt. They will be sitting there worrying that relatives are having to cope with budget cuts while serving on the front line.”

Mr Weston’s battalion was on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship Sir Galahad, in Bluff Cove, off the Falkland Islands, when it was set on fire in an Argentine air raid.

The ship was carrying ammunition, including phosphorous bombs, and thousands of gallons of diesel and petrol. Twenty-two of his 30-strong platoon were killed.

Mr Weston underwent years of reconstructive surgery, involving more than 70 operations, after being badly burned.

He was visiting Matthew Arnold School, in Arnold’s Way, Cumnor Hill, yesterday to talk about his experiences in the Army and his subsequent career as a charity worker and political activist.

Mr Weston said: “I’m a living visual of what war can do.

“I’m not the same Simon Weston who was a rugby-playing, care-free lad from the Valleys. I have had to rebuild myself mentally and physically.

“I hope these young people might see that what you do with your life is down to how much ambition and hard work you put in.”

He was joined at the school by Royal Logistic Corps soldiers from Dalton Barracks, Abingdon. They chatted to pupils about their experiences on recent tours of duty in Afghanistan and displayed some of their equipment.

Major Colin Atkinson, Quartermaster of 12 Logistic Support Regiment, said: “It’s great for our guys to get out and meet young people from the area. It’s nice to explain things and let people know what we’re up to.”

  • The Strategic Defence and Security Review warned that jobs at military bases in Oxfordshire could be at risk as the Government wants to cut the number of Ministry of Defence civilian staff by 25,000 and military personnel by 17,000 by 2015.

The review said that two RAF air stations in the UK will close following a review.

Last night, the Ministry of Defence said that a BBC report claiming RAF Benson, near Wallingford, was safe until at least 2022, was not true.

MoD spokesman Susan Coulthard said: “There is absolutely no truth in the reports. RAF Benson is in the same position as other bases and its future will reviewed.”