Soldier killed by 'legacy mine'

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A mine which killed a Teesside soldier in Afghanistan could have been left over from the Russian Afghan war, an inquest heard.

Sgt Lee Johnson, 33, was commanding a Vector six-wheel armoured vehicle which exploded as it was making its way up a steep desert slope in December 2007.

The career soldier from Stockton had been serving with the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.

His father described him as "Green Howards through and through".

At the inquest hearing on Thursday at Teesside Coroner's Court, coroner Michael Sheffield recorded a verdict that Sgt Johnson was killed in action while on active service.

It was stressed it was only a possibility the mine had been left from the Russian Afghan war, and the old mine field was mapped to have been 2km from the incident.

We sent our little lad off and they sent us a man back Alan Johnson

But bomb disposal expert Captain Robert Ridley said the weather and shifting sand and soil in Afghanistan could move mines around significant distances.

Captain Craig Dawson saw the blast which instantly killed Sgt Johnson.

He told the coroner he was "shocked" when the explosion occurred, given the number of vehicles that had used the very same path used by Sgt Johnson's Vector.

He said: "It is my view that as the front wheel became bogged down it struck a deep-seated legacy mine left over from the Russian Afghan war.

"I cannot think of any other rationale behind this incident."

The vehicle was part of a convoy of more than 20 vehicles that had attacked a village as part of a larger assault on the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala, Helmand.

After the inquest, Sgt Johnson's father, Alan, said he and his wife, Sandra, were very proud of their son. He said: "We sent our little lad off and they sent us a man back."

He added: "He was Green Howards through and through."

Sgt Johnson left a fiance, Lisa McIntosh, a daughter Lilly, aged two, and stepson Ashley, 16.