A FORMER soldier has been awarded £5,000 from Army chiefs after he says he was bullied over his dyslexia.

The final straw for ex-private Mark Holder, of Harwich Road, Colchester, was when he claimed colleagues pointed loaded guns at his head for a prank in a photograph.

But he says it was not a joke and he only realised what had happened when he saw what he described as a “humiliating” picture later on.

It was taken at Middlewick Ranges in Colchester.

Mr Holder, 36, attended Market Field special needs school in Elmstead Market and joined the Army in 2004.

He served in Iraq in 2005 as a chef with the Royal Logistic Corps.

But he said he was bullied when he transferred in 2010 to the Military Provost Guard Service where professional soldiers guard Royal Navy, Army, RAF and other Ministry of Defence bases.

He said he suffered a three year campaign of harassment which, he said, drove him to the brink of suicide.

He left the Army in 2013.

He said: “It was mainly because I needed help with tests and they called me thick and said I never went to school.

“Every single day there was something they would pick on me for.

“It made me low and upset and the lowest point was that picture.”

Mr Holder said he complained to senior officers but felt his complaint had not been seriously.

It took four years for Mr Holder to win his battle for justice from the Ministry of Defence.

After lodging a service complaint it was found colleagues had harassed and bullied him.

A pay-out was awarded.

But Mr Holder says he still has never received a written apology from the Army.

He has only just felt he can publicly speak about what happened.

Mr Holder added: “People need to be aware how the British Army treats people with dyslexia.

“They discriminate against you, they call you thick, that you’re stupid, that you shouldn’t be in the Army.

“I near enough took my own life.”

A friend of Mr Holder’s is now trying to raise cash for him as he has two children to support who live in Uganda.

Leaving the Army meant Mr Holder walked away from a good salary, a pension, housing and is having to rebuild his life.

He now does temporary care work.

To support Mr Holder, go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/armybullying.

An MoD spokesman said: “Bullying and harassment have no place in the Armed Forces and will not be tolerated.

“All allegations are taken very seriously and will be thoroughly investigated.”