Armoured truck saves Burnley soldier from two bombs

9:00am Thursday 9th September 2010

By Nafeesa Shan

A SOLDIER cheated death twice when massive roadside bombs exploded under his vehicle while on patrol in Afghanistan.

Sergeant Barry Quinn said he owed his life to the armoured Mastiff vehicles which had driven over hidden improvised explosive devices in the dangerous Helmand Province.

In the first incident, the Mastiff Group Commander’s vehicle was left unusable when half of its engine was blown up in a Taliban ambush.

Sgt Quinn, from Burnley, and his 22 troops were left stranded in hostile territory for 26 hours and came under heavy fire.

Two of his soldiers were injured during the fighting, one so seriously he had to be airlifted for treatment when their rescuers arrived.

Speaking from Afghanistan, Sgt Quinn, who commands the Mastiff through a hatch at the top of the vehicle, said: “The explosion pushed the vehicle into the air but it landed on all fours.

“There was a bang and we were thrown in the air. Everything went into slow motion then it hit the floor. The mastiff was unable to move but we were unhurt.

“There was an incident in the morning where we suffered a major and minor casualty.

“We could hear the targets getting closer and closer, we knew they were moving when we could hear dogs barking.

In the second explosion, the vehicle suffered just two popped tyres thanks to its additional protection.

Despite the impact and at one point losing radio contact, the 1st Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment soldier said he and his men all walked away without a scratch.

The 28-year-old said: “I was looking forward to where we were going and there was a flash, a boom and smoke “I thought it was the rear vehicle in the convoy as there was a cloud of dust, not that my vehicle had been struck.

“I went back to check on the guys and found another improvised explosive device, which we marked to be dealt with later.

“Everyone was OK and the vehicle was still able to move, it just had a couple of popped tyres.’”

Sgt Quinn, who has three children, two-year-old twins Ryan and Owen, and daughter Courtney, four, added: “The Mastiff is a great bit of kit. They are reliable and have saved a lot of lives.

“At the beginning of the tour one of the lads was hit by a big improvised explosive device and all he had was a few bumps and scrapes.”