Captain Harry Parker, 26, suffered horrific injuries as he caught the full force of a booby-trap bomb while leading a patrol from the 4th Battalion The Rifles.
His father Lieutenant General Sir Nick Parker, who will take over as deputy Nato commander in Afghanistan later this year, has flown home from holiday to be at his son's bedside at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.
His father Lieutenant General Sir Nick Parker, who will take over as deputy Nato commander in Afghanistan later this year, has flown home from holiday to be at his son's bedside at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.
Leading patrol: Captain Harry Parker was severely injured after losing in a leg in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan
UK casualties have reached record levels amid fierce fighting in Helmand province.
In one recent week 157 soldiers were admitted to field hospitals - thought to be the highest figure since operations began in 2006.
Captain Parker, who was commissioned less than three years ago, is understood to be in a critical condition after being flown home for emergency treatment after the explosion on Saturday.
There are fears that he will lose his other leg as a result of multiple injuries.
It is thought he stepped on a concealed pressure pad that detonated the bomb hidden under the road surface.
No other soldiers were hurt in the attack near the hotbed town of Nad Ali in central Helmand.
Roadside bombs have killed and maimed scores of British troops in recent months, as Taliban fighters have become increasingly skilled at building and planting them to cause maximum carnage.
In the first five months of this year UK forces recorded 418 attacks - up from 293 in the same period last year.
In one recent week 157 soldiers were admitted to field hospitals - thought to be the highest figure since operations began in 2006.
Captain Parker, who was commissioned less than three years ago, is understood to be in a critical condition after being flown home for emergency treatment after the explosion on Saturday.
There are fears that he will lose his other leg as a result of multiple injuries.
It is thought he stepped on a concealed pressure pad that detonated the bomb hidden under the road surface.
No other soldiers were hurt in the attack near the hotbed town of Nad Ali in central Helmand.
Roadside bombs have killed and maimed scores of British troops in recent months, as Taliban fighters have become increasingly skilled at building and planting them to cause maximum carnage.
In the first five months of this year UK forces recorded 418 attacks - up from 293 in the same period last year.
Bedside vigil: Britain's third most senior army officer Lieutenant General Sir Nick Parker is devastated after learning his son Harry was severely injured
General Parker, who was knighted last month, is among the Army's most senior and highly-respected officers.
In his current post of Commander Regional Forces he is in charge of all UK-based units and head of the Territorial Army.
In September he is due to deploy to Afghanistan as Britain's senior commander in the country and deputy commander of Nato coalition forces.
A senior Army source said: 'General Sir Nick, his wife and the whole family are understandably devastated by what has happened to Harry. The general understands the risk more than most but it is still an appalling thing for any parent to go through.'
Medics at the field hospital at Camp Bastion in Helmand revealed yesterday that 157 people were admitted for treatment last week - by far the highest figure to date.
The figure is higher than the total of 116 for the whole of the previous month, reflect the sustained intensity of fighting during the offensive codenamed Operation Panther's Claw.
In the past week, it is understood, the hospital has at times treated more casualties than it was designed to cope with.
Last weekend included its busiest-ever 24-hour period, with the worst casualty toll since the Falklands 27 years ago.
More than 30 wounded soldiers, including 15 seriously hurt, were flown into Camp Bastion from the battlefield and the operating theatre went through more than 100 pints of blood products.
The 33-bed hospital came close to overflowing, but staff were able to move stabilised casualties on to emergency flights to Britain or to Kabul, and not one wounded soldier was turned away.
Latest figures show that more than 50 British soldiers have lost limbs and seven have been blinded in at least one eye while serving in Afghanistan - the vast majority of them victims of Taliban roadside and booby trap bombings.
The number of compensation claims lodged against the Ministry of Defence by British servicemen and women has leapt by 60 per cent since operations in Afghanistan began, from 550 in 2006-7 to 922 in 2008-9.
Over the same period the number of claims being dealt with and settled dropped from 889 to 657, and the amount of money paid out in compensation fell by nine per cent, from £33million to £29.8million. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk
In his current post of Commander Regional Forces he is in charge of all UK-based units and head of the Territorial Army.
In September he is due to deploy to Afghanistan as Britain's senior commander in the country and deputy commander of Nato coalition forces.
A senior Army source said: 'General Sir Nick, his wife and the whole family are understandably devastated by what has happened to Harry. The general understands the risk more than most but it is still an appalling thing for any parent to go through.'
Medics at the field hospital at Camp Bastion in Helmand revealed yesterday that 157 people were admitted for treatment last week - by far the highest figure to date.
The figure is higher than the total of 116 for the whole of the previous month, reflect the sustained intensity of fighting during the offensive codenamed Operation Panther's Claw.
In the past week, it is understood, the hospital has at times treated more casualties than it was designed to cope with.
Last weekend included its busiest-ever 24-hour period, with the worst casualty toll since the Falklands 27 years ago.
More than 30 wounded soldiers, including 15 seriously hurt, were flown into Camp Bastion from the battlefield and the operating theatre went through more than 100 pints of blood products.
The 33-bed hospital came close to overflowing, but staff were able to move stabilised casualties on to emergency flights to Britain or to Kabul, and not one wounded soldier was turned away.
Latest figures show that more than 50 British soldiers have lost limbs and seven have been blinded in at least one eye while serving in Afghanistan - the vast majority of them victims of Taliban roadside and booby trap bombings.
The number of compensation claims lodged against the Ministry of Defence by British servicemen and women has leapt by 60 per cent since operations in Afghanistan began, from 550 in 2006-7 to 922 in 2008-9.
Over the same period the number of claims being dealt with and settled dropped from 889 to 657, and the amount of money paid out in compensation fell by nine per cent, from £33million to £29.8million. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk
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