Ex-soldier dodged bombs and bullets only to be paralysed by fall

Former armed forces man David Steele talks for the first time about a freak accident that left him paralysed.

A war hero who survived some of the world’s worst battle zones has been left paralysed after a freak work accident.

David Steele, 36, served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and Northern Ireland during his distinguished 15-year career with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

During that time he survived a rocket attack and deadly firefights. Unlike many veterans, he was lucky enough to leave the army in full health.

But just a year after settling back into civvy street, he broke his back when he fell 25 feet from a cherry picker while helping a friend carry out roofing work.

The father-of-three landed feet-first, shattering two vertebrae in his spine and crushing his spinal cord. The accident left his right leg completely paralysed while he has limited use of his left.

He endured months of gruelling physiotherapy in hospital before he was discharged at Christmas. Speaking for the first time about his ordeal, David said he’s relieved to be back home in Carnwath, Lanarkshire, with wife Lorraine, 35, and their children.

But the couple now face another massive challenge as they look to raise up to £45,000 to adapt their home.

David said it is ironic he came through the danger of war-zones only to suffer such a horrific injury in civilian life.

He said: “I had a couple of close calls in the army. During my second tour of Iraq in 2007 the base came under attack. We got 120 rounds fired at us.

“On my third tour a rocket landed about 50 metres away from us, wiping out the tents around it. Luckily, nobody was in them. Another time, a rocket came into the camp near us but luckily it didn’t go off.

“I took voluntary redundancy from the army in 2012 as I was fed up being away so much. But I didn’t think something like this would happen. I felt a cruel irony at first but I’m trying to move on with my life.”

Lorraine said: “I couldn’t watch the news when David was on tour because I was so scared. We had been looking forward to a normal life when he left the army.”

David set up his own business doing car body repairs but also helped a friend whose company constructs metal frames for industrial buildings.

It was while working on one of these projects in Nairn, on the Moray coast, that David suffered his accident.

He was installing cladding when the wind caught a metal sheet on the roof. It flew through the air and struck him, knocking him off the platform of the cherry picker.

He said: “I didn’t have time to duck or brace. The next thing I remember is being on the ground in a lot of pain. I couldn’t feel the lower half of my body so I was really worried.”

David was rushed to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness before being transferred to the spinal unit at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.

Doctors screwed two titanium rods into his spine to support his shattered back. They will stay in for the rest of his life. David uses a wheelchair but can walk short distances with the aid of crutches and a calliper on his right leg.

He said the trauma has been particularly tough on the couple’s sons: Cameron, 15, Alasdair, 13, and Logan, 6.

However, he remains determined to move on and wants to retrain as a social worker or a probation officer. The couple, who are childhood sweethearts, have been told they will need to pay between £37,000 and £45,000 to have their home extended with adaptations for David.

Friends, locals and army charities have already donated around £4,000 but they’ll need 10 times that amount for the changes they need to make.

To donate to his cause, visit their fundraising website.