A DAD who swapped life on his Oswaldtwistle farm to search oil fields in the Middle East for unexploded bombs has spoken about his experience.

Father-of-two Charlie Peach spends his days working at his equine and livery farm, Magnolls Farm, in Haslingden Old Road.

But in his spare time, he designs, builds, and races hovercraft, with the farm becoming a venue for races and tournaments.

Last year, the 42-year-old’s hobby took an extreme twist when he was approached by a London company contracted to clear oil fields in Kuwait of landmines and unexploded bombs left over from the first Gulf War in the early 1990s.

Charlie said: “It wasn’t making a career per se, but I spent a few months out there helping to survey the ground for ordinance. It was a very large area, and we couldn’t cover it all.

"They are clearing up the mess left over from the war, including the contaminated sands, but before they can put in any construction equipment the land has to be surveyed.”

Using a hovercraft meant that contaminated sand that other vehicles, or even people, couldn’t survey was covered — and in a much shorter time.

“Without a hovercraft, it would have been painstaking,” he said. “In two hours we could cover an area that would otherwise take several days.

“And the hovercraft has less pressure per square inch on the ground than a human, who would have sunk around 18 inches on some of the terrain.

“It was audacious but it was the best option, and it worked.”

Although Charlie admits he was nervous during the challenging stint in Kuwait, which was invaded in 1990 by Iraq, nothing untoward was found during his stint there.