A 27-year-old SAS sergeant who is training as a sniper is the special forces' first openly gay soldier, it has been revealed (file picture)

The SAS has recruited its first openly gay soldier in its 75-year history.

He is a 27-year-old sergeant who has served in Iraq and is training to be a sniper after first joining the Army aged 18 and climbing his way up the ladder.

But away from the military the soldier, who cannot be named for security reasons, lives with his male partner in Herefordshire.

According to the Daily Star Sunday, the soldier, originally of north England, was formerly in the Guards regiment and fought in Afghanistan and Iraq before volunteering for the SAS in 2014.

He is said to be one of just 10 soldiers to pass the intensive training course that year and join the special forces.

A defence source told the Star the soldier, who is said to be a mountaineering expert, did not ‘make a big deal’ about being gay and brought up his sexuality in general conversation.

The source said: ‘There was a bit of banter and a few jokes and some of the ‘old and bold’ have been complaining saying ‘it wouldn’t have happened in their day’.

‘But the world has moved on. For the vast majority of the soldiers in the regiment his sexuality is not an issue.’

The source added: ‘How you cope on the battlefield is far more important than what you get up to in your bedroom.’

He is now serving in the SAS G Squadron and has been described as a ‘top bloke and brilliant soldier’.

Gay and lesbian soldiers have been allowed to serve in the army since 2000 when the then-Labour Government lifted a ban on homosexuals in the armed forces.

A new code on sexual conduct was then introduced to the armed forces prohibiting discrimination and the forcing of anyone to reveal their orientation.

More recently the current Conservative administration has agreed to amend the Armed Forces Bill 2015-2016 to repeal part of the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act that made ‘homosexual acts’ grounds for discharging someone from the armed forces.