SAS sniper Danny Nightingale has been recommended to be discharged from the Army as a result of brain damage - just one day after hearing he would face a retrial for illegally possessing a pistol.

Sgt Nightingale said he was “devastated” that his service with the SAS had come to an end following the recommendation by the Medical Board of the British Army .

However in a statement issued through his lawyer Simon McKay, he acknowledged his brain injury – suffered after collapsing during a charity run in the Amazon jungle in 2009 – meant he could no longer carry out his normal duties.

A military court yesterday ruled in favour of a retrial over the illegal possession of Glock 9mm and over 300 rounds of ammo found following a search of Sgt Nightingale’s service accommodation near Hereford in 2011.

The 38-year-old initially served three months of his sentence before the Court of Appeal found there to have been improper pressure applied to him to plead guilty.

He answered not guilty to both charges put to him at the preparatory hearing yesterday, and the trial is expected to begin on July 1.