Have You Found This Veteran's Glass Eye Collection?

A British Army veteran who was blinded in one eye after being shot in the face during the Iraq War has appealed for help to find his glass eye collection.

Simon Brown lost the "sentimental" brown box carrying the 16 eyes with varying designs on one of his regular trips to London over Christmas.

The 39-year-old only noticed they had gone missing when - after the festive season - he went to change the Rudolph eye he had been wearing.

He said he had built up the collection over 10 years.

Simon Brown was a Corporal in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Iraq when he sustained facial injuries during a rescue mission in Basra.

He lost his left eye and has only 20% vision in his right.

Mr Brown last saw the box on December 17 and thinks it fell out of his bag in London, in Leeds or on a Virgin Trains service between the two cities.

He told the BBC: "The problem is the only eye I've got at the moment is the Rudolph eye, so I'm still having to wear a Christmas one.

"I've got a couple of new ones on order, but it takes three months for them to be done as they're custom made. (...)

"It could have been thrown in a bin as it's just a brown box, but there's always a chance someone may have picked it up and handed it in somewhere."

Simon also featured in a viral Help For Heroes video, during which he spoke to five-year-old Temperance Pattinson about serving in the military and the meaning of being "heroes".

Speaking about his seven-month service in Iraq, Simon told Blind Veterans UK: "My experience there was very challenging; it changed me as a person.

"The invasion stage of my deployment was in actual fact less difficult than the peacekeeping stage. We were trained to invade and fight whereas the re-building stage was something we were not used to doing. (...)

"I do feel a real sense of achievement when I think about my time In Iraq, and I know that my comrades feel this too.

"We went in there and did exactly what was asked of us. Seeing the real jubilation on the faces of the Iraqis and hearing them shout 'liberation' through the streets, is something I will never forget".

While serving in Iraq, Simon helped rescue six colleagues who were coming under fire after their vehicle broke down.

But during the mission, Simon was shot in the face by a sniper while withdrawing from the area.

The bullet entered Simon's left cheek and exited through his right, causing severe facial injuries.

Simon was given emergency treatment in Basra and put into an induced coma.

Seventeen days later, Simon woke up in Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where he was told that his left eye was destroyed and there was little hope for sight in his right eye.

His cheekbones and nose were reconstructed using titanium, his jaw broken and remoulded and a prosthetic eye fitted.

Since his injury, Simon has dedicated himself to working with charitable and voluntary organisations and using his experience to motivate others.

Cover picture courtesy of Blind Veterans UK.