A KIDDERMINSTER soldier who has returned home from Afghanistan said the death of Lance Corporal Richard Brandon brought home the dangers of being on the front line.

Private Jamie Grove, of the 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment, came back from his tour of duty in Helmand Province in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

He was deployed to the war-torn country in March and has spent almost seven months in Sigman, working with the Afghan National Army.

His safe return home came days after Richard Brandon’s funeral.

“When people die it brings home to you the dangers that we face,” the 20-year-old told The Shuttle.

“It’s sad because we have lost people out of our battalion when we were over there who were good friends. I didn’t know [Richard] but it does still bring it home.”

Private Grove, of Peel Street, who joined the Army in 2006, said he was pleased to be back home.

“It was very hard going with the stuff that goes on over there,” he said. “We were working with the Afghan army, so we were in small teams of 10 blokes.

“We went in small patrols along with small groups of 35 men and we were working alongside them. It was a lot of hard work. It was always hot and working in the heat wasn’t good.”

The former Wolverley High School pupil – now Wolverley CE Secondary School – said he joined the Army as he always wanted to work on the front line.

“Joining the Army was something I wanted to do for a long time,” Private Grove told The Shuttle.

He added: “It’s really good to be back home. I really missed home while I was away. It’s nice to be back.

“A lot of the guys struggled with being away from their families. It’s one of those things where you know you’re not going home any time soon, so you’ve got to get on with it.”

Private Grove will now be based between Kidderminster and Northern Ireland and is expected to return to Afghanistan in about 18 months.