Britain's Most Injured Soldier Awarded Freedom of His Hometown

Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson MBE is known as the most severely injured soldier to survive Afghanistan.

The 32-year-old was left fighting for his life when his Land Rover hit a mine in Helmand province in 2006.

After losing his legs and suffering severe brain damage, doctors didn't expect Ben to recover.

But he defied the odds, emerging from his coma after four months and amazing everyone with what he's been able to achieve. 

In fact, the paratrooper has trekked through the Arctic, carried the Olympic flame, kayaked the Yukon River and now he has been appointed a freeman of his hometown, Doncaster. 

This is an honour which used to include the right to graze livestock anywhere on the land.

Doncaster Council has awarded him

"not only in recognition of his personal bravery, fighting spirit, total selflessness, determination and his ability to inspire young and old alike (...) but also for his efforts in raising millions of pounds to help to support and encourage wounded soldiers to live life to the full."

Ben fought the Battle of Rommalia Bridge on his 19th birthday and served a 7-month winter tour in Kosovo with 7PARA RHA before volunteering to deploy to Afghanistan.    

His dream to become a paratrooper goes back all the way to his childhood, when his grandad used to tell him stories of when he was in the RAF in WW2. To this day, he says that he doesn't regret joining the army.

On Thursday Her Majesty the Queen will unveil a new memorial to honour the UK Armed Forces and civilians who, like Ben, served in the Gulf region.

The event will be shown live on Forces TV and on our Facebook page.