A councillor who claimed he was shot 21 times by the IRA has been exposed as a Walter Mitty using his cousin’s military medals.
Josh King, 62, spun a web of lies about being a paratrooper and fighting in the Falklands and Northern Ireland.
He even claimed an IRA ambush left him in a wheelchair when in truth he was in a car accident.
Now the fantasist has been forced to resign as a local councillor after his deceit was uncovered.
Mr King admitted in now-deleted posts that his claims were bogus.
It came after he was outed by the Walter Mitty Hunters Club, a group that unmasks impostors posing as soldiers.
Mr King claimed he was deployed in the Falklands War with 11 Platoon, D Coy, 2 Parachute Regiment in 1982. He also said he served in Northern Ireland with 2 Parachute Regiment in 1985.
As a result he was honoured in military parades, invited to lay a wreath and even appeared wearing a medal and Parachute Regiment beret. But Mr King, of Wroughton, Wilts, confessed he had made it all up.
He wrote: “My cousin, who I never got on with, got to serve and me, well I grew bitter and jealous. He left me his medals, I could have worn them on the left, but that was good enough. The lies got bigger along with the stories.”
In a 2016 interview, Mr King claimed he was shot 21 times by the IRA, which left him in a wheelchair. He bragged he was one of 11 survivors after his 30-man platoon was ambushed in Belfast.
The Walter Mitty Hunters Club said Mr King was brought to their attention by villagers who grew suspicious after a 40th Falklands anniversary parade. The group said he was an “insult to the sacrifice and professionalism of the men and women who served”.
Wroughton Parish Council chairman John Hewer said Mr King had let down the community. He said: “We are deeply disappointed. He is no longer associated with the council.”
Mr King did not respond to repeated requests for comment after his public admissions were deleted.
