Injured trooper Ben completes gruelling trek

The expedition, organised by charity Pilgrim Bandits, retraced the footsteps of the Second World War Heroes of Telemark to mark the 70th anniversary of the mission.

Amputees and severely injured servicemen travelled 65 miles across the Hardangervidda in up to 80mph winds and temperatures of -30C (-22F).

Lance Bdr Ben Parkinson MBE is considered Britain’s most seriously injured soldier to survive the Afghanistan war and completed the journey on a custom-made sled. The double leg amputee from Doncaster has learned to walk on prosthetic legs and talk again after suffering more than 40 injuries, including brain damage.

Poor weather meant for one day the veterans had to seek shelter in one of the original huts.

Spokeswoman Deborah Risbridger said: “Because he had such a love of his soldiering and a huge respect for what the Allies did in Norway in the Second World War, with the 70th anniversary coming up it was something that Ben felt he would love to do.”

The original expeditions to prevent the Nazis developing nuclear energy materials were carried out by Allied forces and the Norwegian resistance from 1942 to 1944.