Military charities are under investigation after it emerged that some of their fund-raisers lie to the donating public about how much actually goes to the causes they represent.

Support The Heroes, set up in 2014 to help veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was banned from collecting donations, and closed down on the eve of Remembrance Sunday after their fund-raisers were filmed by the BBC telling donors that every penny collected went to good causes when in fact 33% of the money was paid to a professional fundraising company, Targeted Management Ltd, run by Tony Chadwick from Blackpool. Support The Heroes is run by two of Chadwick’s former business partners and has paid over more than £60,000 of the £192,000 it has raised.

Chadwick’s firm has, according to the Charity Commission, a contract with another military charity, Our Local Heroes Foundation, to receive up to 80% of the money collected. Of £500,000 donated to the charity in 2015 just £10,000, or 2%, has been spent on projects to help veterans. And the Charity Commission is trying to claw back £2.9 million from another Chadwick firm, Prize Promotions, which collected £3.1 million for Afghan Heroes and passed on £250,000 (8%) to projects supporting veterans.