A MEDIC has told how she dodged Taliban bullets to treat a soldier who had been shot on the frontline.

Private Annabel Kavanagh, 23, from the Three Medical Regiment, was out on patrol in Afghanistan's Helmand province with the Duke of Lancaster Regiment's Anzio company when they came under fire.

Private Kavanagh said a bullet went through a soldier's foot.

They all fell to the ground as the Taliban continued to shoot at them.

She said: “I did everything to treat him.

“We were under contact and shots were being fired all the time. Together with the officers we got him behind a wall.

“You just do as much as you can do on the front line. The training kicks in straight away.

“Even if you start to think about what is happening you have to deal with it. The soldier who is injured needs you to be strong.

“If they see you struggle it can effect them.”

Private Kavanagh, who has family in Blackburn and Chorley and regularly visits the area, trained for two years to become a medic at Catterick.

The medic, who now lives in Wolverhampton, was inspired to join the army by her dad Lee Kavanagh, from Darwen, who served as a chef.

While on patrols with the soldiers and back at base she has treated four gunshot wounds to arms, legs, hands and chests.

In addition, has had to treat more conventional ailments, such as colds and sprained ankles.

As well as a helmet, body armour, and 25kgs of kit including vital supplies such as water, Private Kavanagh must carry vital equipment such as a haemorrhage kits, fluids, drugs including morphine.

She said: “We receive quality training that goes into every single detail."

* Click on the link below for more stories by Nafeesa Shan in Afghanistan.