Bomb blast soldier raring to be back in Afghanistan

A soldier who survived a devastating land mine blast is going back to Afghanistan after 12 operations to rebuild his right leg.

Lieutenant Peter Hayward, 25, was hurled 33 feet by the explosion, which left the limb hanging by a thread of flesh at the knee.

The officer, from Croydon, stepped on the mine in a farmer's field as he raced to help a platoon pinned down by heavy enemy fire during a major assault on the Taliban in Helmand province.

The back of his leg was shredded and a hail of shrapnel was blasted into his right arm, left leg and lower back.

Lt Hayward, who served with 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, said his life was saved because the device went off behind him and threw him forward, rather than detonating directly beneath him.

He is returning to Afghanistan after two years' work by a team of consultant surgeons at the Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals in Birmingham.

The infantryman said of the explosion: "I don't remember hearing a bang, I just remember a massively bright white flash. I landed on my front and because of the adrenaline, I started crawling on my belly.

"It was only when I tried to put my hands down and stand up that I realised I couldn't stand.

"I rolled over and looked down, and just saw blood soaked through my combats. It wasn't a pretty sight. The first thought that went through my head was, 'My mum is going to kill me' but after that I went into 'I'm not going to die in a field in Afghanistan so I need to get myself out of here' mode."

He was leading eight of his men on a re-supply patrol during Operation Moshtarak in March 2010 when the pinned-down platoon radioed for support. As his own platoon ran to his aid after the blast, they also came under fire from insurgents 160 yards away.

"I was lying there with rounds coming in around us as half the platoon were fighting off the Taliban and half were dragging me to a helicopter landing site for evacuation," said Lt Hayward.