A TEENAGE soldier who had both legs blown off when he stepped on a bomb inAfghanistan said the thought of meeting the Queen pulled him through his darkest hours.

Fusilier Shaun Stocker was among members of 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh presented with medals by Her Majesty at a moving ceremony at Chester Racecourse.

The 19-year-old was six days from the end of his tour in Masizi when he stepped on an explosive device while clearing a path for fellow soldiers. He lost both his legs below the knee and was left partially blinded.

Yesterday, after two months of treatment, he was among 16 soldiers to be decorated with campaign medals. He said: “It was a goal for me to be here because I was very ill in hospital and this gave me something to work towards.

“I wanted to be fit enough to make it here today and have managed to pull myself through.

“Getting a medal from the Queen is such an honour.”

Around 500 soldiers twice paraded before the Queen and relatives in the racecourse stands to make sure the final march past was faultless.

The mood combined celebration and poignant reminders of comrades lost and injured.

Major General Roddy Porter, Colonel of the Regiment, said: “This day is about the regimental family. We are delighted to see some of our wounded among us today.”