Blown up, set alight and shot... so why is this hero British soldier getting only a derisory £163,000 payout?

Lance Corporal Martyn Compton, 24, saw three of his comrades killed by a massive roadside bomb before he was blown up, set on fire and then shot as he tried to drag himself to safety.

The young Household Cavalry soldier  -  a friend and colleague of Prince William  -  clung to life in a coma for three months and will need constant medical care and frequent surgery for the rest of his life.

Lance Corporal Compton, from Staplehurst, Kent, lost his ears and nose, and his eyelids were fused inside out. He has only limited use of his arms, and no sweat glands over much of his body.

Horrific injuries: Lance Corporal Martyn Compton suffered more than 70 per cent burns to his body in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan

But the MoD offered him just £99,000 in compensation  -  a fraction of the sums paid to civilian staff who are injured at work in Britain.

While that was increased to £163,000 on appeal, his lawyers believe it is still less than half of what he is entitled to.

Yesterday veterans minister Derek Twigg promised to reconsider Lance Corporal Compton's case after it was raised by an MP in the Commons.

The soldier's supporters say that the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which assesses pay-outs according to a strict tariff system, is profoundly unfair to the most severely wounded soldiers whose lives are shattered on the battlefield, because it fails to take account their long-term needs or loss of future earnings.

Lance Corporal Compton, who is still undergoing rehabilitation at the Headley Court military hospital, is due to marry his fiance Michelle Clifford later this year.

His life changed for ever on August 1, 2006, after the attack in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

Crouched in the wreckage of his armoured vehicle, torn apart by a roadside bomb which had killed his three comrades, he watched as a Taliban fighter aimed a rocket-propelled grenade directly at him.

It hit the engine block inches from his head, showering him with flaming debris and leaving him on fire and in 'indescribable pain'.

Princes' comrade: The soldier trained with both William and Harry before going to serve in Helmand Province in 2006

Under enemy fire he crawled 100 yards to reach cover, suffering horrific burns as his body armour melted on to his skin. He was shotin the leg before he could drag himself behind a low wall.

Finally, colleagues from the Household Cavalry Regiment realised he was missing and drove back into the ambush to rescue him.

Back home, the complex rules of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme meant that Lance Corporal Compton was offered just £98,837.50 because only the three worst injuries count towards a payout. His other eight injuries count for nothing.

Even after an appeal, the MoD claims he is still entitled to just £163,000  -  far less than the maximum compensation lump sum of £285,000.

Critics believe that the upper limit should be set significantly higher, at £500,000 or more.

The soldier's lawyers estimate that if all his injuries could be compensated in full according to the tariff-based system he would receive £366,000.

When he met Gordon Brown last month, Lance Corporal Compton told the PM he was 'really worried' about his financial future

Raising the case in the Commons, Tory MP and former Guards officer Hugh Robertson said the offer was 'inadequate recompense' for Martyn Compton's sacrifice.

He said MoD officials appeared to have awarded him the 'lowest amount available for each of his specific injuries', and demanded an urgent review.

Derek Twigg agreed to reopen the case and look again at the way the award was calculated.

Happy couple: L/Cpl Compton with girlfriend Michelle before he was injured

Ministers were forced to reconsider the rules last year after the Daily Mail highlighted the case of Paratrooper Ben Parkinson, who was blown up by a landmine in southern Afghanistan while serving with the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery.

He lost both legs, suffered severe fractures all over his body, and had brain damage which left him unable to speak.

Whitehall red tape meant he was offered a lump sum of just £152,000.

The soldiers' payouts are a fraction of the £484,000 awarded to a civilian RAF typist last year for repetitive strain injury in her wrist.

Former guards officer Alistair Galloway who is supporting L/Cpl Compton's cause, welcomed Mr Twigg's pledge but said the compensation scheme needed a major re-think.

He said: 'Injured soldiers need to have peace of mind that they will be looked after in case anything goes wrong.'

The MoD said last night that the rules of the military compensation scheme were subject to a second review, with ministers determined to make payments more generous for the worst-affected servicemen.