UK

Injured troops become scuba instructors

Two injured former British soldiers have successfully qualified as diving instructors as part of a pioneering rehabilitation scheme.

Brad Hughes and Peter Wesley are the only recipients of the British Sub Aqua Club's (BSAC) Open Water Badge through an Army scheme.

The programme, run by the Army Sub-Aqua Diving Association, which trains military divers, has been used for a number of years as a form of rehabilitation for wounded servicemen.

Brad Hughes was serving with the Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan when his armoured vehicle drove over an IED. His colleague Peter Welsey was injured after receiving complicated leg fractures during military training before deployment. Both men were discharged from the Army on medical grounds but found diving as their new passion.

Mary Tetley, chief executive of the BSAC told the BBC: "Gaining your BSAC open water instructor qualification is an achievement in itself, but to do so when battling a crippling injury which has had such a profound effect on your life is remarkable."

"I am so pleased for Brad and Peter and they are a great inspiration to all of our members."