A SOLDIER armed with medical training and a magic sponge helped soothe the pain for fellow soldiers suffering from blisters and fatigue on a gruelling four-day march.

Private Darren Shepherd, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, helped to provide the medical back-up at the 84th Nijmegen marches, in the Netherlands.

The event sees soldiers push their stamina to the limits, which gave Darren, from Chester-le-Street, plenty of exhausted participants with which to contend.

A large number of blistered walkers meant that 25-year-old Darren was kept busy, with 1,500 patients needing treatment during the course of the event.

Darren, a former butcher and pupil of Hermitage School, said: "It's the first time I've ever done this and I enjoyed it. I liked the diversity and coming out of camp to do medical work."

This year's event included celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of involvement by the British Army contingent