AN ARMY veteran who has experienced a year of housing turmoil has now found a somewhere to call home - here in Irvine.

For more than a decade Bobby Jones has been homeless or moving from one private let to another.

But now, for the first time in 14 year, Bobby has his Christmas decorations up as he has found a stable home.

He is one of nine veterans Riverside Scotland has allocated a home to, out of the 77 properties built in phase two of the Tarryholme development in the Irvine.

Bobby's precarious living situation started after he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on his return from tours in war torn countries including Bosnia, two tours of Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and a tour of Iraq in 1991 - where Bobby lost three friends who were killed in a friendly fire incident by a US A-10 aircraft.

Bobby pushed his family away and his marriage broke down as he struggled to come to terms with what he’d seen.

Over the past decade Bobby had experienced homelessness four times. At one point sleeping in his car for several weeks and on other occasions sofa surfing or living in hostels.

Though after receiving help to manage his PTSD from charity Combat Stress, Bobby feels like he is beginning to bounce back - with his new two-bedroomed home an excellent step forward.

He said: "This year I finally feel like I have a home for Christmas. Being in one place is a big relief for me.

"I feel much more at ease now. I wasn’t settled before, I was always moving. I feel I’m not going to be thrown out of my home, the landlord’s not going to sell it."

While, as mentioned above, Bobby is not the only veteran who has moved into Irvine.

John Canavan-Daly, 45, who left his role as a corporal in the Royal Logistics Corps 13 years ago, moved into his three-bed bungalow only four weeks ago.

“This place is life changing,” he said. “It’s like all my Christmasses come at once. I feel safe here.”

Although married when he came out of the army, John divorced 10 years ago, and since then has lived in a caravan and several private rented homes.

Veterans support service Veterans First Point, which works with Riverside Scotland, alerted Bobby and John to the new homes being built in Irvine and asked if they were interested. 

In 2021 Riverside Scotland and Veterans First Point, which is part of the NHS, set up a ‘service level agreement’ to support veterans to maintain their tenancies. 

Veterans First Point told Bobby about the possibility of a home last Christmas and John, who lives with his 17 and five-year-old sons in his new home, heard about it 18 months ago.

John said when he heard the news he was “absolutely blown away”, adding: "I pretty much broke down there and then. I couldn’t believe someone was offering me that.

"I haven’t really enjoyed Christmas since I got divorced. But now I’m here with my boys and it's going to be fantastic."

Bobby, who served with the Queens Own Highlanders - which amalgamated with the Gordon Highlanders in 1994 to form The Highlanders - lives in his home with his two Yorkshire terriers and is looking forward to watching a film or two on Christmas Day.

He says his 23-year-old son coming to see him and that they may also be “having a steak”.

Both John and Bobby said the new houses built on Riverside Scotland’s Tarryholme properties are their "homes for life".