A LITTLE girl inspired by the bravery of soldiers has met a blinded Iraqi war veteran and captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people in the process.

Five-and-a-half-year-old Temperance Pattinson, from Darlington, was intrigued by strangers wearing poppies in her hometown and told her mother she wanted to show soldiers “how much she loved them”.

And her wish to meet a soldier has been granted after Help for Heroes invited the youngster to film a moving video with Simon Brown who was shot in the face by an Iraqi sniper in 2006.

A clip of the pair chatting about their lives has been viewed more than 200,000 times in less than 12 hours, with hundreds of viewers hailing the pair as heroes in their own way.

Temperance, who introduces herself as Tempy to the 38-year-old veteran, reveals how despite being scared of riding her bike, she overcame her fears to complete a sponsored triathlon to raise £350 for the Help for Heroes charity.

The organisation, which works to provide better facilities for British servicemen and women who have been wounded or injured in the line of duty, brought the pair together and filmed their meeting.

Tiny Tempy said: “I want to raise money for the soldiers because even though it is hard work and a challenge for me I thought if they did something nice for us we shouldn’t just wait around and let them do all the hard work, you should pay them back with something really nice for them.

“In my triathlon I had to swim, do a bike ride and then run. It was very hard for me because I am scared to go on my bike.

“I’m worried I might fall off and hurt myself or nearly break my knee. It was hard, but I think being brave is doing something you don’t think you can do but you carry on anyway.

“Soldiers have to be brave all the time. No matter how hard it got, I just really wanted to give them back a present.”

Mr Brown, from Leeds, was left with extensive facial injuries and scars after being targeted while serving in the Army 11 years ago.

The Darlington girl added: “I was so excited about meeting Si.

“I wanted to give him a special present. I went into a crystal shop with my mum to find something that was even more special than he was.

“I picked a tiger’s eye stone because it makes you happy and I thought it would make him feel like he’s with me again whenever he holds it.

“I have a special thing to remind me of Si, too. I bought a silver shell that will remind me of him.

“I think he is very brave. He had other soldiers to support him and he was supporting the others. I think it was really good because they have so much strength and they never give up.”