Sheer bravery: The moment disabled Iraq veteran Chris completes 10k race for third time
WAR veteran Chris Ashton, who suffered devastating injuries after being hit by a grenade in Iraq, has defied the odds once more by finishing the Hull 10k - the third time he has successfully completed the gruelling event.
Hull 10K: War veteran Chris Ashton crosses over the finish line
A heart-rending video shows the gutsy former soldier - who is disabled and has trouble talking as a result of injuries sustained in 2006 - being helped by fellow competitors to walk the last few steps across the finish line, after being pushed around the course in his wheelchair. Mr Ashton, 35, was a radio operator with the Royal Logistics Corp attached to The Black Watch when he was hit in the face by a grenade travelling at a speed of 1,500mph. The missile shattered his skull, leaving him blind in one eye.
He suffered several strokes after doctors operated on his skull and was left paralysed down his left side.
After several months in a rehabilitation unit, he was allowed to go home to his family.
However, further health complications three years ago saw him admitted to hospital with fluid on his brain, reported the Hull Daily Mail.
At the time friends admitted they were concerned Mr Ashton was losing the will to live, and he became so distressed doctors put him into an induced coma amid fears he had contracted meningitis.
At the time childhood friend and carer Julian Dennis said: "We thought he wasn't going to make the night.
"I feel devastated because he has to start again, we have to build him back up again from where he was.
"For him to do all that amazing hard work, and then to end up back where he was – it's heartbreaking.
"He will have to learn to talk and walk again because his muscles have lost all their strength while he's been in hospital.
“It got to a point where he just gave up."
Fortunately friends and fellow servicemen rallied round, sharing Mr Ashton’s plight on social media, with cards of support pouring in from as far away as Australia.
It’s been a hard road - but three years later, aided by supporters from the Help for Heroes charity, he took the difficult steps across the finish line once again.
Hull 4 Heroes, the Hull branch of the charity, tweeted afterwards: “Once again Chris Ashton proves what a hero he truly is.
“Severely injured in Iraq, Chris walked in pain the last few steps of this years Hull 10k.
“Not going to lie few tears & very proud!”
More than 220,000 British personnel served in the Iraq and Afghan campaigns.
In total, 21,756 men and women have been medically discharged from the British Armed Forces for health reasons since the wars began in 2001.