Soldiers have better conditions in Afghanistan than in 'decaying' UK barracks

A Parliamentary investigation highlights "disgraceful" accommodation with crowded housing blocks blighted by overflowing drains and broken windows, and married quarters left to decay until they are taken over by squatters.

The Defence Select Committee accuses ministers of failing to grasp the shocking extent of the problems - which it says are driving experienced personnel to quit the military.

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It calls for a major cash injection to ensure troops who fight for Britain abroad can return to decent homes.

The criticism comes amid growing anger at the Government's treatment of the hardpressed armed forces, and only a day after the Royal British Legion began a campaign calling for the broken "military covenant" between the nation and its warriors to be restored.

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MPs began an investigation following a wave of complaints over the dismal state of rundown and neglected barracks and married quarters.

During site visits to Army bases at Hounslow, West London, and Pirbright in Surrey they saw disturbing examples of the dilapidation.

"The accommodation provided was disgraceful", the report states.

"At Hounslow we found barrack blocks with overflowing drains and repairs which had been left unattended.

"At Elizabeth Barracks, Pirbright, we saw where noncommissioned officers slept eight to a room, with minimal privacy and negligible storage.

We were told that soldiers from 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment on deployment in Afghanistan had more comfortable accommodation than their comrades left behind in Pirbright."

The Royal Anglians have suffered nine fatalities in Afghanistan during their current tour of duty, while the 1st Battalion the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, who occupy Hounslow Cavalry Barracks and are also in Afghanistan, have lost seven men.

At Pirbright, the MPs saw married quarters that were occupied by squatters.

The MoD owns 600,000 acres in the UK. Its buildings and land are valued at £18billion, including 70,000 married quarters and 165,000 single living spaces.

But much of it dates from the 50s and 60s and is blighted by a "legacy of under-investment".

There are major projects to improve this, with £5billion earmarked over the next decade - and the report praises some 'magnificent' new buildings - but fewer than half of barrack spaces reach required standards.

The man in charge Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence - husband of the Princess Royal as well as chief executive of Defence Estates - was praised by the committee for his "candid and realistic approach".

He told MPs it could take "ten to 20 years" before all barracks were up to scratch.

A separate study by the National Audit Office into military accommodation all over the country earlier this year has also highlighted how far there is to go.

The report by MPs is particularly critical of the new privatised contracts involving MoD housing.

MPs say there is confusion over who is responsible for repairs and military commanders feel "helpless" when trying to get problems fixed.

They warn that the state of the accommodation is driving experienced personnel to quit, adding to the forces' manpower problems.

Tory defence spokesman Dr Liam Fox said the military housing was "a national scandal".