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Lance Corporal Christopher O'Malley from Middlesbrough was wounded in an explosion. He saw his fellow soldiers run from the vehicle he was in, but he was so badly injured he was unable to move.

The force of the blast had ripped his big toe off and later he had to have others removed.

Christopher said, "At the moment they are trying to make different kinds of prosthetic toes for me. That's ongoing, hopefully it'll be done by September. I'll try each one of them and the one's that work the best I'll keep for the rest of my life."

He remains incredibly upbeat about life and will soon be doing a medical course. He will be going back out to Afghanistan this year. But the accident has meant, for the time being, he will not be able to go to the notorious forward operating bases.

"The medic side will be good because then I can help people through similar situations like the one I went through."

Sergeant Eddie Nichols

Eddie's story

Sergeant Eddie Nichols from Middlesbrough was standing close to an explosive device when it detonated. Stones flew into the air and as a result he will never be able to see out of his right eye again.

Eddie said, "I've got perception of light only. I can tell when the lights are off or on - that's about as good as it's going to get."

He moved in to a job as a Welfare Officer looking after soldiers and their families at the base. "If I could, I would go on the next tour. It'll be a hard time knowing that they're there."

At the time of the interview, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (traditionally known as the Green Howards) were beginning preparations to return to Afghanistan in September 2009.