THE father of a North-East marine hailed his son a hero last night after 14 commandos took on scores of Taliban fighters in one of the most ferocious battles of the war in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Steven Hughes, from Darlington, escaped from a tiny compound with 13 other Royal Marines after a fierce threehour firefight with numerically superior enemy forces attacking them on three sides.

The Marines, from Lima Company 42 Commando, and 29 Commando Royal Artillery, were down to their last few rounds of ammunition when they managed to escape unscathed, leaving at least five Taliban dead.

The firefight, which has been dubbed The Battle of Compound 62, erupted after the Marines were forced into the small village compound after coming under attack in a cornfield.

The Northern Echo: FIERCE FIGHT: Marines from Lima Company 42 Commando, and 29 Commando Royal Artillery in a rooftop battle with the Taliban - Picture courtesy of The Sun

The Marines exchanged thousands of rounds with the enemy and, during an intense rooftop gunfight, were sprayed with AK47 fire from just 50m away. More than 30 grenades were thrown over the walls of the makeshift base by the enemy.

The Marines finally escaped after calling in a US A-10 Warthog jet, which dropped two 500lb bombs on the Taliban fighters.

An Apache helicopter gunship helped cover their escape by raking enemy positions with its heavy calibre machine guns.

The fighting has been described as some of the fiercest of the tour, with two Commandos sustaining injuries from hot bullet casings that burnt through their uniforms.

Corporal Leigh Godwin, who fought alongside L Cpl Hughes, said: “It was the fiercest fighting I’d seen this tour. The rate of firing was something else.”

Bombardier Steve Anderson, 24, said: “It wasn’t until we got back to base I thought, ‘How the hell did we get out alive?’.

The battle came during a five-day operation by Marines and SAS to clear insurgents from the Washir area of Nade- Ali North.

Speaking from his Middleton St George home last night, L Cpl Hughes’ father, Les, 45, told The Northern Echo he was extremely proud of his son.

“When I heard about what he’d done, I was very proud indeed.

“The gunfight they were in was quite an ordeal – very frightening. Everyone survived, and they killed five Taliban.

They’re all heroes.”

The 23-year-old, who is from Eastbourne, Darlington, and grew up in Barnard Castle, is a member of 29 Commando.

He is on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. The former Teesdale School pupil has a two-year-old daughter, Ella.

Mr Hughes Sr was able to watch some of the battle on a national newspaper’s website.

“When I watched the video of the actual battle, I could hear my son. It was very intense.

“Every time you see the news and you hear someone’s been killed, or badly injured, you feel relieved when you hear the family’s been informed.

“They are doing a brilliant job. He’s got a few Afghan friends and they believe in what he’s doing, and so does he.”