A Lance Corporal in the British Army whose leg was mangled during a war game is suing the Ministry of Defence for £4million in compensation.
Yorkshire Regiment soldier Michael Milner claims he was badly injured when his leg got caught in the mechanics of an 'overloaded' Warrior tank's gun during a simulation in the Canadian prairies in 2017.
As too many soldiers were apparently being carried in the armoured vehicle, its protective gun cage had to be removed and Mr Milner was allegedly caught up in the mechanism when the gunner moved it.
When he was eventually dragged from the Warrior, Mr Milner's leg was 'grossly swollen and deformed'. Despite years of treatment and rehab, he was discharged from the Army last month.
Mr Milner, 30, claims his injuries have left him struggling to play with his children and have ruined his career in the British Army. His lawyers say he will never be able to work a physically demanding job again.
Suing for £4million at the High Court, he claims too many soldiers had been crammed in due to another Warrior breaking down and men having to be redistributed to the working vehicles.
But the MoD denies liability for his injuries, arguing that what happened during the training exercise was exactly what would have happened on a real battlefield.
Yorkshire Regiment Lance corporal Michael Milner claims he was badly injured when his leg got caught in the mechanics of an 'overloaded' Warrior tank's gun during a simulation in the Canadian prairies in 2017
As too many soldiers were apparently being carried in the armoured vehicle, its protective gun cage had to be removed and Mr Milner was allegedly caught up in the mechanism when the gunner moved it (stock image)
Mr Milner, of Halifax, Yorkshire, and his colleagues were on a multi-day live firing exercise at the British Army Training Unit Suffield, in Alberta, when he was hurt, his lawyers say.
The exercise involved soldiers moving across the prairie in Warrior tanks, using the Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW). Six soldiers, including Mr Milner, were in the troop compartment of his vehicle, with the Warrior's three-man crew carried in separate parts of the vehicle.
But when another Warrior broke down, a seventh man had to be carried as well, complete with his anti-tank gun, says his barrister Charlotte Law in court documents.
'It was immediately obvious that conditions in the Warrior would be extremely cramped with the additional man and weapon,' she says. 'The presence of the NLAW on the vehicle bed prevented the men in the troop compartment from being able to place their feet on the floor, instead they had to place their feet on the NLAW which raised their knees to head height.
'The claimant was concerned that the cramped conditions were unsafe and that it was not possible for the NLAW to be strapped down, which represented a significant risk to the compartment occupants if the vehicle were to roll.
'Furthermore it became clear that the only way to fit seven men and the
