A TEAM of courageous military amputees has completed a gruelling fortnight kayak expedition in Greenland.

The journey was organised by the New Milton-based military charity Pilgrim Bandits, which was founded by former special service veterans in a bid to help injured soldiers live life to the full.

Expedition members paddled up to twenty miles a day, for around five hours, before making camp each night.

Those taking part, all amputees, included paratrooper Ben Parkinson; Royal Marine Vince Manley; civilian quad amputee Alex Lewis, Steven Allen, Adam Cyr, Stuart Holcroft and Lance Corporal Tyler Christopher.

Para Ben Parkinson was injured in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 2006, when the Land Rover he was travelling in hit a mine. The blast broke his back in three places, punctured his lungs, broke all of his ribs, ruptured his spleen, and smashed his cheek, nose and jaw.

Ben, then 22, was left in a coma for three months during which surgeons removed both his legs above the knees.

Before the Greenland expedition, which was successfully completed last month, Ben said: "Doing things like this is a way of proving that I am still a man, that I haven’t been broken by what happened."

Pilgrim Bandits' general manager Andre Edwards said: "This was gruelling expedition broken into two week-long parts with the amputees split in to two groups and completing a week each.

"There was plenty of icebergs and we were privileged to see whales and the Northern Lights during the expedition."

Each amputee shared a double kayak with an able-bodied expedition member, with fee-paying kayakers joining the trip to offset some of the costs. Those who paid also contributed towards the funding of the Pilgrim Bandits' kayaking training centre on the south coast.

A Pilgrim Bandits' spokesman explained: "The injured members of the team have completed comprehensive training for the trip and three have gone on to achieve level one coaching qualifications with the British Canoe Union in Kayaking, all funded by the charity.

"Pilgrim Bandits provides training working towards qualifications for those injured interested in pursuing a career in the leisure sector or to simply train for expeditions like this one."

The Greenland expedition took place from August 26 until September 11.

Pilgrim Bandits was set up in 2007 to organise extreme sports excursions for wounded former service personnel, and recent trips have included the Norwegian fjords and the Yukon River in Canada.

For more information or to donate visit pilgrimbandits.org.