Injured soldier walking tall with new legs

HEROIC soldier Ben Parkinson has beaten the odds to stand tall again four years after he lost both his legs in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan.

By The Newsroom

Published 17th May 2010, 10:45 BST

Updated 17th May 2010, 10:45 BST

Lance Bombardier Parkinson became one of the most severely injured servicemen to survive battlefield injuries.

The 26-year-old paratrooper from Doncaster suffered almost 40 separate injuries when his Land Rover was caught in the Taliban blast in September 2006.

Last year he underwent surgery to straighten his back so he could walk again – and has now taken delivery of two new prosthetic legs.

They allow him to look again at life from his 6ft stance. As part of his rehabilitation regime, he is also undergoing speech therapy to help him overcome brain injuries.

As part of his rehabilitation regime, he is also undergoing speech therapy to help him overcome brain injuries.