Defence chiefs paid over £7m since 2015 to the AA to attend conked-out and crashed vehicles

DEFENCE officials have paid the AA more than £7million since 2015 to attend conked-out and crashed vehicles — with the cost rising each year.

The service has answered more than 13,200 MoD call-outs in the UK and beyond.

Vehicles include cars, lorries and light tanks and one break down had to be brought back from Morocco, a Freedom of Information request said.

Some still in use, such as the Bulldog armoured personnel carrier, are more than 50 years old.

One Army source last night said: “This is what comes from years of underfunding.

“Vehicles are poorly maintained and there are no spares available and consequently they break down on a daily basis.

“I doubt there is a unit in the British Army which doesn’t have a problem with vehicle maintenance and consequently vehicles are always breaking down – you can see it every day on motorways across the country.”

A separate MoD report has also revealed that in 2022 – the latest figures available – troops were involved in 3,800 collisions.

The figures contained with the MoD’s Defence Road Safety Strategy published last year also disclosed that armed forces personnel are 50 percent more likely to be involved in a vehicle accident compared to civilians.

Vehicle collisions now account for one in five deaths of all military personnel.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We do everything we can to minimise costs although sometimes vehicles do break down.”