Ashford army medic reveals life in Afghanistan

Such is the dichotomy faced by Tom Lock, whose day job as a paramedic is a world away from the tours he has spent as a medic in the Territorial Army on the front line in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Staff Sergeant Lock, who lives in Ashford, treated hundreds of soldiers and civilians including children last year in and around Camp Bastion - the British base featured on ITV's Doctors and Nurses at War and Sky One's Ross Kemp in Afghanistan.

And while the 43-year-old London Ambulance paramedic attended to the wounded at the 1999 Paddington rail crash, nothing could have prepared him for the the scale and severity of the injured in Afghanistan and the desolate environment of Helmand Province.

"The emptiness on the ground in Helmand is unbelievable," he said. "I thought Iraq was bad but this was a whole different level. In some ways it's very medieval - their existence hasn't changed much in hundreds of years."

"You don't know what to expect particularly when you hear they are using more of these improvised explosive devices. That does play on your mind quite a bit. In some ways I was prepared but to see people you have done training with injured is really difficult."

Sergeant Lock has been in the TA for 25 years and served with the 144 Parachute Medical Squadron all over the world, including in Iraq in 2003, Belize in 1999 and Kenya in 1987. Despite his experience, he always finds it hard to leave his wife and two young sons at home.

He said: "When I heard I was going out it was a mixture because I have got a family and it's hard for them but I have got the skills and I wanted to put them to good use. Everyone knows that's going on there - everyone's seen the news - so I was apprehensive."

While in Afghanistan, Sergeant Lock was sent out on the front line with his squadron where he faced the threat of landmines and Taleban ambushes. Under the Geneva Convention, medics are obliged to treat not only British soldiers but civilians and even enemy combatants, which caused controversy when soldiers complained to the BBC about sharing wards with the Taleban last month.

But Sergeant Lock sees it differently. "Obviously they get treated under guard but there is no prejudice against them - you just treat what you find," he said.

"I treated Iraqi soldiers in Iraq and it's never been an issue for me. It's difficult treating civilians who are getting blown up though but you learn ways of detaching yourself I guess."

As for the prospect of another gruelling tour, Sergeant Lock thinks his age might be catching up with him. "You get at least three years between tours and I will just have to wait and see but I think I might get to hang up my boots now," he added.