AN RAF regiment veteran who hit rock bottom after losing his career following a serious spinal injury when his vehicle hit a bomb in Afghanistan has praised Help for Heroes for helping him build a new life.

Darren Kamara, 37, from Hartlepool, was serving as a Lance Corporal in Afghanistan in 2007 when the weapons mounted vehicle hit a hole dug out for an improvised exploding device.

Mr Kamara, acting as top cover in the vehicle, was crushed between the machine gun and the side of the vehicle, resulting in numerous prolapsed discs and T4 Syndrome – an injury causing pain and numbness in his arms.

Thinking he was suffering from whiplash he carried on – but five years later when due to be promoted to Corporal he had a relapse, locking his neck and rendering him unable to move.

The Northern Echo: FAMILY: Darren Kamara with fiancee Lisa and son Oryn.
FAMILY: Darren Kamara with fiancee Lisa and son Oryn

A scan finally revealed the full extent of the damage and after seven years in the RAF he was medically discharged and his career was over.

Help for Heroes, which has recovery centres around the UK including Phoenix House in Catterick Garrison, gave Mr Kamara housing support when he was made homeless and encouraged him to take part in the first Invictus Games on the archery team last year.

“At first I was upset but that very quickly changed to a real fear with the realisation of what it meant to lose my career," he said.

“I was scared for the future, not being able to work regularly or sometimes even at all.

“I even contemplated the worst at one point while staying at the recovery centre - I hit my lowest point and was in a very bad place for a little while.

“It was only my fiancée and the help of the team at the centre that got me to move past it, I could have been in a much worse place now without the recovery centre.”

Mr Kamara was made homeless shortly after his discharge but was given a home at the charity’s recovery centre in Colchester for almost a year.

He also took part in photography workshops, which encouraged him to take it further and he is now a successful freelance photographer and has taken images for GQ and Porsche 911 magazines.

Mr Kamara is a regular visitor to Hartlepool and Peterlee but now lives in Cambridgeshire with fiancée, Lisa – a former member of the GB Olympic swimming squad – and baby son Oryn.

Wounded veterans in the North of England are encouraged to contact Phoenix House recovery centre on 01748-834148.