Decorated bomb hero did not wear full protection

Captain Daniel Shepherd, 28, from Lincoln, was awarded the George Medal after he was killed in a blast on July 20 last year while working in Nad-e-Ali in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

The soldier, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, was killed instantly as he tried to defuse a pressure-plated device, an inquest at the Cathedral Centre in Lincoln heard.

The temperature on the day he died was between 45C and 50C, the coroner was told. This would have made it impossible for Capt Shepherd to wear a full protective suit and operate freely.

Instead, he walked 40 metres to the device in standard body armour.

Breaking down in tears, Corporal Matthew Ashley, who was yards away when the explosion happened, said: "We were like brothers when we were talking. After he had confirmed it was a device he laid down on his front.

"I asked: 'What have you got?' and he said it was a bog standard device."

Moments later there was an "almighty explosion" which killed Capt Shepherd instantly.

The inquest heard Captain Shepherd and his four man team were called out at about 11am on July 20.

They had only been on two jobs in the previous 11 days from their forward operating base, which was described in court as "extremely rare".

Once they arrived a separate six man team searched the area with metal detectors and specialist equipment to ensure the device was not linked to any other bombs.

Once they had given the all clear, Captain Shepherd made a second faulty bomb safe before he found the explosive, which was partially exposed.

Specialist electronic equipment was used to ensure it could not be detonated by remote control from a nearby compound inhabited by Afghan civilians.

Once he found the bomb he got down on to his stomach as he attempted to dismantle it by hand. It was then it exploded, killing the soldier.

A military source, speaking outside the inquest, said it was standard procedure for bomb disposal experts not to wear the fully protective suit, which weighs between two and three stone.

It means they become an easy target for Taliban snipers and cannot easily escape if they come under fire, he added.

He said: "These guys do it day in, day out. They are highly

professional people. Hurt Locker is a Hollywood misconception." The film The Hurt Locker tells the story of an American bomb disposal unit during the Iraq conflict as they contend with a variety of explosive devices planted by insurgents.

When Capt Shepherd's widow Kerry received the George Medal on her husband's behalf in March, it emerged that he had defused 13 Taliban improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by hand in 36 hours.

While under sporadic enemy fire, he cleared the IEDs from a drug bazaar without the use of a bomb disposal robot, protective suit or specialist electronic equipment.

She dedicated the award to his team, adding: "The medal was awarded in light of his ultimate sacrifice. He will always be loved and never ever forgotten."

On Monday, the Army's top bomb disposal officer, Colonel Bob Seddon, resigned after expressing concerns about the pressures on his team operating in Afghanistan during a BBC Panorama documentary.

The inquest continues.