A NORTH-EAST soldier who lost a limb after being blown up by the Taliban 18 months ago will take to the skies with Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne tomorrow.

Rifleman Chris Park will join 30 people jumping to raise money for the Pilgrim Bandits – a charity set up to raise awareness of amputees and burns victims affected by conflict.

Rfn Park, of Murton, near Peterlee, east Durham, spoke of his journey to recovery and his involvement with the charity as he celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday.

He said: “What the charity is about is motivation and challenging yourself – it’s about proving to yourself and everyone else that you can still do things that you could do before and more.”

Rfn Park, of 3 Rifles, was in Sangin, in Helmand province, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Herrick.

He said: “I was a battlefield casualty replacement and went straight to the front line.

“I was blown up by an IED while on foot patrol four weeks later, on December 18, 2009.

“It was the start of an ambush and there was a lot of small arms fire.

“I sadly lost my left leg below my knee, and suffered shrapnel injuries to my right leg – flesh wounds and muscle damage – and broken bones in my arms. I also got a 7.62mm bullet in my backside.”

Rfn Park was flown home and spent six weeks in intensive care, before he was allowed home on sick leave.

He said: “It was really difficult back then. I couldn’t really move.

“I was on so many prescription drugs. I was a different person really.

“The drugs were supposed to make you better, but they were just making me more ill.

“In the end, I packed them all in. I got better and got stronger over time, because of that – and I wasn’t dependent on any painkillers or drugs.

“I take no medicine whatsoever these days. Not even aspirin.”

Rfn Park, who is still a serving soldier, spent months building himself up with intensive rehabilitation at Headley Court Military Hospital, Surrey.

He was recently invited to Darlington-based Mr Bannatyne’s Covent Garden flat, along with double amputee Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, 27 of Doncaster, burns victim Trooper Jamie Hull, 35, from Leighton Buzzard and former Miss UK and Miss Galaxy Hayley Mac – a patron for the charity.

Mr Bannatyne said: “Pilgrim Bandits is a fantastic charity that works with guys that have lost limbs or been burnt. They work together and bond together. Everything they do is fantastic.”

Mr Bannatyne is aiming to raise £30,000 for the charity through the jump at Netheravon, in Wiltshire.