I'll return to the Army, says soldier with Taliban bullet lodged in his back

A soldier who was almost killed in Afghanistan is vowing to return to Army service despite his serious injuries.

Lance Corporal John Dippnall was shot as he prepared to throw a grenade during a covert operation against the Taliban in Helmand province.

The bullet entered through his collarbone, pierced his liver and kidney and narrowly missed his heart before coming to rest in his back.

During emergency surgery, he had a third of his left lung removed along with his left kidney and part of his damaged spleen but doctors are amazed at the speed of his recovery.

The 22-year-old soldier was allowed home to Rochdale just two weeks after the attack.

Lance Corporal Dippnall, who has served in the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment for three and a half years, said: 'I feel so lucky to be alive.

'I was lying on my front going to throw a grenade bomb when all of a sudden I felt like I had been punched in the chest.

'I couldn't really feel any pain but I felt my chest and my hands were covered in blood so I knew I had been shot.

The x-ray reveals how close a Taliban bullet came to killing British soldier John Dippnall

'I managed to run to a medic but that's all I remember before I blacked out.'

He was airlifted to an Army field hospital for life-saving surgery, then flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where he was reunited with his parents Olga and John, and girlfriend Stacey Dawson, 21.

Mrs Dippnall said: 'His doctors and friends are all calling him "miracle boy" and it's easy to see why.'

The bullet is still lodged in his back. Doctors say it would be difficult to remove, but is unlikely to cause him any further injuries.

He is still unable to stand up straight and is learning to control his breathing so that his damaged lung expands.

He will never be able to serve in Afghanistan or Iraq in the future because of his injuries but he plans to stay in the Army and hopes to retrain to serve a different role within his battalion.

He said: 'All I ever wanted to do was be a soldier. I have a way to go until I'm fully recovered, but the great thing about the Army is they'll always find you a job.

'I'm taking it one day at a time, but things are going well. I should eventually get back to near the fitness I was before this happened.'

The young soldier, pictured with girlfriend Stacey Dawson, wants to return to the army despite his horrific injuries