soldier Emily Dearden has spoken about coming under fire in Afghanistan on her first tour of duty.

The Clitheroe private, 20, is a combat medic attached to a platoon in D Company of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers.

Emily, who went to St Augustine’s RC High School, Billington, has been in the Army since June 2007 and said she felt drained after being deployed on her first operation.

She said: “It was hard work. The kit is extremely heavy to work with, and it is terrifying when you are under constant fire.

“The enemy put down a lot of firepower but the lads knew what to do and we managed to move around the battle area as we needed to.

“As soon as we had casualties the adrenalin and training kicked in.”

Despite the nerves she was confident that the operation would be a success.

“Before I came out to Afghanistan I took part in exercises," she said.

"One was a week long and we had amputees acting as casualties so we could practise our skills and be better prepared when we got here.”

The platoon suffered a couple of minor casualties and had nothing but admiration for Emily in how she treated them.

Major Neil McKeon, the regimental medical officer, said: “As soon as we had casualties Emily tended to them with speed and efficiency and to the highest standard.

"She was excellent under pressure.”