DEFENCE chiefs are due to close a North centre for soldiers suffering post traumatic stress disorder.

The move came as a court battle began that could cost the Ministry of Defence (MoD) millions of pounds. A group action involving almost 2,000 former servicemen and women suffering from the disorder, including some from the North-East, was launched in the High Court.

They accuse the MoD of failing to prepare service personnel adequately for their exposure to the horrors of war. The ministry contests the case, which could last up to seven months.

Yesterday, the court heard stories of veterans' experiences from the Gulf, Bosnia, Falklands and Northern Ireland. In illustrations of servicemen's trauma, their counsel, Stephen Irwin QC, referred to cases of:

l A 19-year-old man from the North of England who was sent to Bosnia. He walked into a village where, breathing in smoke and fearful of crossfire, he saw a horrifically mutilated pregnant woman tied to a post.

l Another young man, on a ship in the Falklands War, who saw his best mate burn to death and "smells the smell of roast pork for the rest of his life".

The MoD acknowledges that some members of the armed forces suffer trauma and insists that its procedures for dealing with the problem are adequate.

Yesterday, the Army confirmed that the Defence Secondary Care Agency unit at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire - one of only two such Army centres dealing with post traumatic stress disorder - has been earmarked for closure.

A spokesman said: "We cannot comment further, due to the legally sensitive nature of the court case."