Gurkha fears over veteran's debt

Citizenship joy

A campaign group for Gurkha servicemen says that it is disturbed over reports that a distinguished former soldier is in danger of losing his house in Nepal.

The Gurkha Army Ex-servicemen's Organisation (Gaeso) says that World War II veteran Tul Bahadur Pun is not able to pay crippling medical bills.

The soldier is the holder of the UK's highest military medal for courage, the Victoria Cross.

A local Nepalese newspaper has reported that he has a week to repay the loan.

"We are obviously very worried about Mr Pun's plight," Gaeso Chairman Santosh Thalak told the BBC.

"He is a celebrated soldier who is currently in a fragile medical state receiving treatment here in Britain. He is not in a position to cope with having his home re-possessed and the authorities in Nepal should put a stop to it."

Mr Thalak said that the actress Joanna Lumley was taking a key interest in Mr Pun's plight because he saved her father's life during World War II.

"She is going to his home town of Pokhara later this month and I don't expect she will be happy until the matter is resolved," he said.

A newspaper report in Nepal said that Mr Pun owes nearly $18,000 (£11,000) to cover the medical costs.

The former rifleman won the right to live in the UK in 2007 after his case was supported by Ms Lumley.

The BBC's Joanna Jolly in Nepal says that if Mr Pun is unable to repay the loan, he will lose his house in Pokhara where a street has been renamed in his honour.

Local activists in Nepal are also calling on the Nepalese government to help Mr Pun, who they describe as a national hero.