A COMBAT medic whose career was ended by a freak injury has a new role thanks to a North-East medical training company.

David Hindson, a former member of the 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders regiment, dislocated his shoulder in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2010, during a training stretcher race.

Mr Hindson, 26, of Fishburn, near Sedgefield, was left upset when his combat medical training was not recognised by UK private sector employers.

However, he worked with Medics UK, in Middlesbrough, and secured a role with Darlington-based engineering company, Deep Ocean, to provide first aid and emergency cover on cable-laying ships on the Dolwin 2 wind farm, off the coast of Holland.

Mr Hindson, who lives with wife, Ruth, 36, spend seven years in the military and served in the Falkland Islands, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said: “My injury was a complete freak and couldn’t have happened at a worst time with the recession at its height.

“It was the lowest moment in my life, but Medics UK showed me I could transfer skills I had learned during combat training to find a new career.”