A NAVY veteran spent £25,000 of his pension going private for life-saving heart surgery because of NHS delays.

Neil Wogan, 52, found out in 2023 that he required an urgent valve replacement.

But after a four-month wait to see a cardiologist and then an additional four months to wait for an op, he went private, fearing “my heart could fail at any moment”.

Former weapons engineer Neil, now a police community support officer, from Wigan, said: “I feel really let down by the system.”

Neil said: “I felt like a ticking time bomb.

“Every night I went to sleep thinking I might never wake up.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to go private as I’ll now have to retire later than I’d planned but I felt forced to – I was desperate.

“I had been on sick leave by that point for months and it was taking a huge mental and physical toll on me and my family.

“I’ve served my country for nearly 30 years: in the Navy, for my local council, and for the police.

“I feel really let down by the system.”

The British Heart Foundation called it the result of an “unprecedented crisis” in heart care, with 420,000 in England on waiting lists.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the UK and second for women.