Extraordinary story of what it’s really like to be blown up by a land mine as a new film Mine staring Armie Hammer is released

On September 6, 2006, paratrooper, Corporal Stuart Pearson lost his left leg when the Parachute Regiment of the 3rd Battalion was marooned into an unmarked minefield as he travelled to break up a Taliban checkpoint in Kajaki, Afghanistan.

The minestrike 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed his best friend, Corporal Mark Wright and severely injured five of his other comrades.

Corporal Stuart Hale, who was on top of the hill with me in Kajaki spotted that the Taliban had set up some kind of illegal roadblock.

So that morning, we discussed what we would do about the situation.

We thought about a strike, but that would probably cause too much collateral damage to women, children and their families, so we dismissed that idea.

We decided to see what we could do from where we were. But we were 2.5 kilometres away from the roadblock – too far for our rifles to reach.

We thought that if we could get to about 1,800 metres, we’d be able to shoot from that distance. So Stu (Hale) set off mid-day.

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Stuart when he was on tour in Afghanistan ( Image: Eastnews Press Agency)

I told him to get a radio check to make sure that communication was still okay. When he got to the bottom, he was able to get me the radio check, so that was all fine.

Then a couple minutes later, we heard a loud blast and a cloud of black smoke coming up from the area.

We recognised that distinctive sound, so all of us knew pretty much right away that it was probably a mine that had been set off.

I grabbed a couple of soldiers and we made our way down to where Stu was. One of our soldiers gave him first aid, doing his best to take his pain away, because he was in a lot of pain.

As I looked around, I quickly realised what we had gotten ourselves into.

Stuart, second from left, during recovery ( Image: Collect Unknown)

I radioed in to the commanders: “We are in a minefield, we are in deep s*** – we need a winch.” They denied.

A lot of adrenaline was going through me, for sure, especially when I first went down there to get Stu. I wasn’t sure if we would come into contact with the enemy – that was an adrenaline rush.

Corporal Mark Wright came down with a handful of soldiers and two medics.

Stuart was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal ( Image: Eastnews Press Agency)

I told Mark what was going on and what had happened. I told him that a helicopter with a winch had been denied. He then radioed in and asked again. They still denied.

Stu was at the bottom of a mound, so I knew that getting a helicopter to land on the ground was not possible. We needed a flat area to allow the helicopter to land.

A couple of soldiers went to search for a flat area, while making sure that there weren’t any mines leading up to that. That was all cleared.

We also found another area, a Plan B, in case the Air Force wasn’t happy with our first choice.

As I made my way back to Stu, I stepped on a mine and it blew off my left leg.

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I didn’t really realise what had happened. I looked down to see what damage it had done. I could see that my leg was gone boot-high, because despite being blown off, the top lace of my boot was still attached to the remainder of my leg.

I went into my medical pouch and got my tourniquet out.

As I was about to apply the tourniquet, Fusilier Andy Barlow came running over to me.

Once he started getting that on me, I got morphine out straight away and stabbed myself with that. It didn’t hurt at the time.

Stuart Pearson was caught in a minefield while serving in Afghanistan

There was a little bit of panicking but when you’re in that situation, instinct just takes over. Your body’s in survival mode. I knew what I needed to do. As soon as I saw the damage it had done to me, instinct just kicked in. I knew I had to get the tourniquet and do it myself.

I knew that it would hurt once the adrenaline died down, so I needed to do something to prevent it from hurting too much, and that’s why I got the morphine out.

Stuart faced a long road to recovery ( Image: PA)

Once I did this, Mark Wright and medic Lance Corporal Alex Craig came over to me. Mark was getting my details and radioing into the hospital at Camp Bastion headquarters.

I was drifting in and out of sleep, so I don’t remember much.

I wanted to go to sleep but I knew if I did, I wasn’t waking up.

(It was during this period a winchless Chinook helicopter was sent but the downdraft from it’s propellers when it tried to land set off a third mine mine, fatally injuring Cpl Wright)

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Mark Wright kept on coming over to me, making sure I was still awake. He was taking care of all the soldiers. Even though he was so badly injured himself, he still kept the hope going.

Next thing I knew I was taken away by a helicopter that was brought in.

Corporal Mark Wright of the Third Battalion, Parachute Regiment, who was 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed in Afghanistan

September 6 was a terrible day. But I would never talk anyone out of joining the armed forces, it’s a great career.

Most amputees I know lost their limbs in traffic accidents and things like that. Losing your limbs in combat isn’t actually that likely. You could become an amputee just from crossing the road.

That day in Kajaki changed my life forever. But it’s allowed me to give back to the charities that have helped me out.

New film Mine stars Armie Hammer ( Image: Handout)

They got me skiing, they got me back up skydiving, and numerous other activities that I thought I’d never be able to do again.

The first major event I took part in was a 350 mile walk in 2008. It was tiring, but I did the London Marathon in April last year, and that was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

I wouldn’t even have contemplated running the London Marathon with two legs, nevermind one.

We managed to raise £4,500 for Blesma, a limbless veterans charity. I’m doing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in June, so I’m really looking forward to that.

Stuart was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for bravery on the day. Corporal Hale, who also lost his leg in the minestrike, as the first amputees to rejoin the conflict. However, he was medically discharged in 2012 against his wishes and had to leave the Army.