A FORMER soldier who lost a leg serving in Libya has found a new home in a North Yorkshire village - thanks to a £2.9 million development aimed at tackling the affordable housing shortage.

Luke Conde lost his left foot in 2011 whilst serving with the Royal Signals in Libya during the civil war, and resulting complications led to him losing his leg below the knee.

He is still undergoing operations to try to ease his pain and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and he was discharged from the Army on medical grounds earlier this year.

Luke, 30, said that if Broadacres had not built 20 new homes in Linton-on-Ouse, near Easingwold, he and his family would have been forced to move away, due to the high cost of buying and renting in the village.

He said that after being discharged from the Army, he had had to move out of the military-subsidised home he shared with his partner Kelly and their two young sons, Freddie and Seth.

The couple heard about the homes Broadacres were building - in partnership with Lindum York, Hambleton District Council and Linton-on-Ouse Parish Council – and which were to be allocated to people with a local connection to the village.

As Kelly works at the Linton-on-Ouse RAF base, this qualified them for a home and they were allocated a three-bedroom property on the development, built on land near Linton Meadows.

Luke said: "It couldn’t have come at a better time for us because it was looking like we would have to move away. Kelly works at the base and my sons goes to nursery/school in the village so it would have been a real wrench to leave."

He said Broadacres staff had told him they would be able to adapt the home to his needs. “Having such great support and a happy family makes it so much easier for me to face, and tackle, the battles ahead.”

The housing scheme forms part of the North Yorkshire Rural Enabler Programme, which supports the development of affordable housing so that villages remain sustainable places to live.

Fiona Coleman, Broadacres Development Manager, said: “Luke and his family are exactly the sort of people these homes were built for and we are pleased they are settling into their home so well."