among the horrors of war, doctorswho found their kindred spirits

DOCTORS Martin Christie and Brigid Allagoa found love amid the horrors of war in Afghanistan.

Neurosurgeon Martin, 63, met Brigid, 52, a consultant paediatrician at Dewsbury and District Hospital, as they fought to save soldiers and civilians injured in the Helmand province.

The pair found themselves sharing a desk at the British Army HQ in Helmand, but romance did not blossom until after they returned to the UK.

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Mr Christie said: “There weren't many women in the Territorial Army and even fewer Nigerians, so I admired her courage.

“Sharing the experience with someone can bring you together, but as far as romance goes it’s completely the wrong situation. The relationships you form in that type of situation are deep, not superficial. It is our common experience.”

They became firm friends and helped each other through difficult days in the war zone.

Romance blossomed back home during walks in the Yorkshire Dales and they are now living in Huddersfield.

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Mr Christie said: “As a surgeon, you are dealing with blood and guts the whole time, whether you are in Afghanistan or the UK. The difference is the freedom to go out into the hills together here, which is something you can't do in a war zone.”

Miss Allagoa said: “It was the first time we had been together where we weren't sleeping in tents, sharing toilets with hundreds of other people and facing water restrictions.”

Since they became a couple, Mr Christie has returned to Afghanistan three times with UK company Frontier Medical, and Miss Allagoa might be called back this year.

Senior officers have now asked Mr Christie to review clinical practice guidelines in military facilities in Afghanistan.