A SOLDIER who fled the country instead of serving a second term in Afghanistan has been imprisoned for nine months.

Lance Corporal Joe John Glenton, of the Royal Logistic Corps, admitted absence without leave after failing to return to duty in June 2007.

The 27-year-old was due to go on a tour of duty in Afghanistan for the second time since joining the Army in 2004, but instead booked a flight to Bangkok and spent two years in South East Asia and Australia, where he met his wife.

The couple returned to the UK last June, when Glenton was arrested for desertion, which was later reduced to absence without leave.

The court martial at Colchester on Friday was told Glenton, who received a medal for his earlier war service, was suffering from adjustment disorder and post-traumatic stress at the time of his disappearance after a seven-month stint in Afghanistan, where he was supplying coffins for servicemen killed in the conflict.

The court heard evidence from Glenton’s psychiatrist, Dr Lars Davidsson, who said the soldier began binge drinking, taking opium and smoking cannabis to cope with his fragile state of mind on his return to the UK.

Nick Wrack, mitigating, said Glenton had increasing doubt over the morality and legality of the war.

Mr Wrack claimed Glenton suffered bullying and intimidation when he voiced his views.

“He felt victimised by his senior officers and he felt he was being ignored. He was called a coward,” he added.

Judge Advocate Emma Peters ruled Glenton should serve two thirds of a nine-month sentence in a Military Training Corrective Centre after going absent without leave for two years and six days.

She said: “There are many soldiers serving in the Army who have extremely unfortunate experiences during operations. They watch their friends die and leave behind their families, but they return to Afghanistan and do their duty.”

Glenton, based at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was also reduced in rank. He left court accompanied by police holding one fist in the air.