THE Army has been suffering two psychiatric casualties a day in Iraq, the Ministry of Defence admitted yesterday.

The cost of private military care at a network of Priory clinics has totalled more than GBP9m since 2004.

The number of service personnel with mental disorders caused orworsened by tours of duty in Iraq rose to 727 in 2005 and included 66 cases which were so severe they had to be returned to the UK.

The Priory treated 321 military patients in 2004-05 and 351 in 2005-2006.

Tom Watson, Armed Services Minister, said the MoD operated 15 mental health teams in the UK and ran unitbased facilities in Cyprus and Germany.

An MoD spokesman said the network of Priory clinics across the UK allowed soldiers to receive treatment near their homes. At least 70 Iraq veterans are also being cared for by the charity Combat Stress, which receives GBP2.8m a year from the MoD.

A spokesman for the charity said referrals from GPs had jumped by 26-per cent last year and that an alarming development had been the number of psychiatric casualties aged in their 20s. "In previous conflicts, signs of post-traumatic stress disorder or deep depression have taken 10 to 15 years to manifest themselves."

He said: "The Iraq factor seems to be accelerating that process.

"The constant danger of an insurgency in which civilians can be waving a greeting one minute and planting a roadside bomb an hour later may be a factor, " he said.

Yesterday at the British Medical Association's armed forces' conference, Mr Watson highlighted a programme announced last month for

the support of reservists mobilised to fill gaps in the regular forces who believe they are suffering from mental health problems.

"They will soon be able to access a defence medical service assessment programme and, if their condition warrants it, treatment at military facilities, " he said.

The MoD says that fewer than 1.5-per cent of the servicemen and women deployed to Iraq since 2003 have experienced serious psychiatric problems.

Yesterday, Downing Street officials insisted there will be no swift repatriation of British troops, despite Iraq's government saying its forces could begin taking over southern provinces from coalition forces next month.

Iraqi security forces hope to assume responsibility for Muthana province - where Britain has 150 soldiers - within weeks.