British soldier Scott Garthley, once a successful banker, now has been forced to sell his home and spend most of the year in Bulgaria because he could not survive in Britain on his army pension, UK Telegraph daily said.

Garthley was injured in a scud missile attack during the second Gulf War in 2003.

Garthley now lived in Bulgaria's Varna, the Telegraph said. He returned to the UK for medical treatment and to fight a 2.8 million pound (3.6 million euro) negligence claim against the ministry of defence.

"The army believes I'm only worth a pension of 71.79 pounds (94.37 euro) a month, on top of my money from the Veterans' Fund," the Telegraph quoted Garthley as saying.

"Life in Bulgaria is good simply because it's cheap."

Garthley has been disabled after injuries to his shoulders, knees and back in the missile attack. His teeth were broken and he was diagnosed with stomach injuries, the Telegraph said.

He's been unable to work since the attack and his relationship broke up under the strain of his injuries.

According to Garthley, he has spent more than 60 000 pounds (78 878 euro) on private hospital bills.

Garthley has had more than 20 operations and doctors recently discovered neurological damage, which caused his feet to grow by two sizes, the Telegraph said.

The UK ministry of Defence said Garthley was not completely disabled and therefore his pension would not be increased.

"Garthley's war pension is currently under review and until that process has ended, it would be inappropriate to comment," the Telegraph quoted a spokesperson of the ministry of defence.