A FORMER soldier and his partner are living with five other family members in a three-bedroom house in Taunton.

Fiona Young, 20, said her boyfriend, Adrian Ward, 32, now working as a driver, was led to believe they were entitled to jump the queue for a council house when he left the Army

But when they applied to Taunton Deane Council for a home they were told they needed to go on the waiting list. Instead they moved in with Adrian's parents and three brothers at their home in Eastwick Road.

"It's really crowded and the two of us are sleeping in a single bed," said Fiona. "It's so stressful I'm losing my hair over it.

"Before Adrian left the Army he was told the law said we could go anywhere in the country and the council would have to house us within six to ten weeks.

"Adrian was born in Taunton, he's done 14 years in the Army, including Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, and now the council tells him we can't have a council house."

A Deane spokeswoman said the law giving people leaving the armed forces priority housing had changed, but she said the couple were entitled to put their names on the waiting list and would have their case treated on its merits.