Surviving the hell that is Helmand

Andy Allen feared he would be permanently blind after the explosion

A unique documentary which shows the reality behind the headlines when British soldiers are reported "very seriously wounded" in Afghanistan is to be shown on BBC Northern Ireland.

For the first time, the Ministry of Defence has allowed television cameras to follow wounded soldiers from the moment they are flown back to the UK, right the way through their treatment at Selly Oak Hospital and its Defence Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court

Royal Irish Ranger Andy Allen, a 19-year-old Belfast man, was blown up by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan's Helmand province in July last year.

The film, Wounded, shows the young soldier being flown from Helmand within 48 hours to Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital where a team of NHS and military medics fight to keep him alive.

As he lay unconscious, Andy's family conducted a bedside vigil. His mother, Linda, speaks with searing honesty about her concerns for her son before he comes round and finds out that he has lost both legs and is blind as a result of burns to his eyes.

Andy Allen practices using his new legs at a hospital in England

Paratrooper Lance Corporal Tom Neathway, 24, from Worcestershire, remained fully conscious after a similar device exploded when he moved a booby-trapped sandbag in July 2007.

Both his legs were blown off and his left arm was damaged so badly that it had to be amputated.

Five weeks after the blast, Tom was sitting up in bed in the hospital planning his return to his regiment.

Surviving their injuries is just the beginning.

Tom and Andy then faced months of rehabilitation at Headley Court.

They joined a community of wounded soldiers who, with determination and a healthy dose of squaddie humour, urged each other on.

Slowly, they began rebuilding their lives and making plans for the future.

Tom's aim was to learn how to walk on his artificial legs by the time he collects his campaign medal from Prince Charles.

Andy was just desperate to be allowed home to Belfast where his girlfriend had just had a baby.

His greatest wish was that his eyes healed enough for him to see his newborn son.

The film follows the story of the two remarkable young men and their families through what was a difficult and hard-fought battle to move on with their lives.

Wounded: BBC One Northern Ireland on Wednesday 23 September at 2100 BST.

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