British 'world-record sniper' says he can still see and smell the people he killed in his nightmares

Sgt Craig Harrison holds the longest confirmed sniper kill but developed post-traumatic stress disorder after his deployment in the Balkans

(MARCO DI LAURO / GETTY IMAGES)

The British sniper who holds the world record for the longest confirmed kill has said he has been "hung out to dry" by the Army since being discharged.

Sgt Craig Harrison, who served in the army for 23 years, told ABC news that he felt like he was “hung out to dry,” when he was discharged. “They didn’t even say thank you,” he said.

Over the course of his career, Sgt Harrison completed multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, the latter of which caused him to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sgt Harrison said that his nightmares were related to the people he had killed, that “I can smell them, I can see them. Every person who I have taken their life”.

During the Balkans conflict, which saw Sgt Harrison deployed to deal with the aftermath of mass murders, he described in an interview remembering the grim task of identifying the dead how “we had to put an arm to a body and match it”.

In 2010, Sgt Harrison sued the Ministry of Defence for a “catastrophic error” which put him and his family in danger of being abducted by terrorists.

Upon returning home from Afghanistan the MoD revealed that he had achieved the record-breaking shot of 2,474m, confirmed by Guinness World Records, although an error led to his name being revealed.

Sgt Harrison also alleged that he was denied the Military Cross for his bravery by one of his senior officers declined on his behalf saying that “I should have be the one that declined it, not another person”.

The MoD has been contacted by The Independent for comment.