Shrewsbury army hero Ben awarded Queen's Gallantry Medal

Rifleman Ben Taylor was on his first operational tour in the war-torn country when he found himself rushing to save his stricken colleagues from a submerged vehicle.

The 21-year-old, from Castlefields, was a top gunner in a Mastiff armoured vehicle on a covert operation in Helmand province when the vehicle rolled down a three-metre high bank into a canal.

He was thrown from the hatch and was trapped between the armour on the vehicle and its body before being swept downstream.

His only way to escape was to take off his body armour and, despite suffering a back injury, he swam back to help his colleagues.

Rifleman Taylor said: "The turret was underwater, submerged, as the vehicle was upside down. It was half full of water and was filling up, so I was trying to get the lads out.

"I was pretty much by myself. I knew I had to help them but I had no protection or anything, no weapon, no body armour.

"I went back in through the turret and got a pistol, then came back through. The only way out for them was the same way, but they were getting stuck by their body armour so they had to take it off and one by one come out through the turret."

Rifleman Taylor repeatedly dived to guide the men out through the tunnel and to the surface in a rescue that took about 40 minutes.

Despite being the youngest and least experienced person there, Rifleman Taylor found himself taking control of the situation.

"I'm not a leading man. It was just natural instinct to help get them out," he said.

Rifleman Taylor was forced to leave the six-month tour early because of his back injury and has not yet been able to return to his roofing job.

He will be awarded with his medal by the Queen at a special investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

His citation describes how he displayed "immense physical courage and determination . . . risking his own life to rescue his colleagues".