British soldiers used to be called lobsterbacks by their American enemies because of the bright red uniforms they wore.
Now lobsterback is an appropriate term for this British soldier in Afghanistan.
Lobsters are protected by their hard shells. And in this instance, the body armour the soldier wore saved his life after he was shot in the back.
When Lance Sergeant Daniel Collins, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was sent sprawling after being shot in the back by a sniper's bullet, he must have thought the end had arrived.
But when a comrade went to his aid, he was amazed to find that the bullet had been slowed down by the body armour and had only just penetrated his skin.
Unbelievably, he could even see the bullet and managed to dig it out with his bare hands.
L/Sgt Collins was left with just a hole in his back and minor bruising.
British soldier had sniper's bullet pulled from his back by comrade after being shot by Taliban
By Niall Firth
09th June 2009
Daily Mail
Shot in the back by a Taliban sniper, Lance Sergeant Daniel Collins must have thought his luck had finally run out.
Flattened by the force of the bullet, and in excruciating pain, he begged his platoon leader not to tell him how bad is injury was.
But when L/Sgt Grant Lewis went to his comrade's aid he was amazed to find that the bullet had been slowed down by the body armour and had only just penetrated his skin.
Unbelievably, he could even see the bullet and managed to dig it out with his bare hands.
Lucky escape: Lance Sergeant Collins and his body armour that saved him after being shot in the back. The bullet strike mark is at the bottom of the body armour's ceramic plate.
L/Sgt Collins, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was left with just a hole in his back and minor bruising.
Mr Collins, 26, was in Southern Helmand Province when he was hit by the sniper's bullet.
He said: 'I knelt down in an irrigation ditch in partial cover when I was hit in the back by a single shot. It must have been from about 200 to 300m away.
'It knocked me down in an instant - it felt like being hit by a sledge-hammer at full swing.
'I was face down in mud but I managed to shout to Sergeant Lewis that I'd had been shot.'
Lance Sergeant Collins shows the bruise left by the impact of the bullet. He was left with severe bruising
He added: 'He replied in disbelief. So I said again: 'Seriously Grant, I've been shot in the back.
'He crawled over to me, lifted up my body armour and physically removed the bullet with his bare hands.
'I was afraid that I would be bleeding heavily and I told Platoon Sergeant Lewis not to tell him how bad it was.
The strike mark of the bullet where it hit the bottom of Lance Sergeant Collins' ceramic body armour plate
'I was amazed when he said: 'You've just got a bruise - there's no blood.'
Mr Collins, of Cardigan, West Wales, was left in excruciating pain from the bullet wound and was airlifted to an army hospital in Afghanistan where is recovering.
Doctors at the Camp Bastion hospital have told him he would have died if the bullet had struck him just millimetres lower.
He said: 'The bullet hit the very bottom right-hand side of my ceramic body armour back plate, literally right at the edge.
'Any lower and the doctor said that it would have gone straight through me, hitting my kidneys.
'The bullet was a 7.62mm round - that's a high calibre bullet to be hit by, but it shows you that the body armour works.
'I wouldn't be sitting here now telling you this story if I hadn't been wearing one.
'If I ever meet the person who designed our body armour, I'll buy them a pint.'
Mr Collins joined the Army a few days after his 16th birthday and has served his country for almost 11 years - seeing action in Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Iraq.
His mother Deana, and sister, Megan, who live in Cardigan, have been told of his lucky escape and are hoping he will get home leave before returning to the front line.
dailymail.co.uk
Now lobsterback is an appropriate term for this British soldier in Afghanistan.
Lobsters are protected by their hard shells. And in this instance, the body armour the soldier wore saved his life after he was shot in the back.
When Lance Sergeant Daniel Collins, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was sent sprawling after being shot in the back by a sniper's bullet, he must have thought the end had arrived.
But when a comrade went to his aid, he was amazed to find that the bullet had been slowed down by the body armour and had only just penetrated his skin.
Unbelievably, he could even see the bullet and managed to dig it out with his bare hands.
L/Sgt Collins was left with just a hole in his back and minor bruising.
British soldier had sniper's bullet pulled from his back by comrade after being shot by Taliban
By Niall Firth
09th June 2009
Daily Mail
Shot in the back by a Taliban sniper, Lance Sergeant Daniel Collins must have thought his luck had finally run out.
Flattened by the force of the bullet, and in excruciating pain, he begged his platoon leader not to tell him how bad is injury was.
But when L/Sgt Grant Lewis went to his comrade's aid he was amazed to find that the bullet had been slowed down by the body armour and had only just penetrated his skin.
Unbelievably, he could even see the bullet and managed to dig it out with his bare hands.
Lucky escape: Lance Sergeant Collins and his body armour that saved him after being shot in the back. The bullet strike mark is at the bottom of the body armour's ceramic plate.
L/Sgt Collins, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was left with just a hole in his back and minor bruising.
Mr Collins, 26, was in Southern Helmand Province when he was hit by the sniper's bullet.
He said: 'I knelt down in an irrigation ditch in partial cover when I was hit in the back by a single shot. It must have been from about 200 to 300m away.
'It knocked me down in an instant - it felt like being hit by a sledge-hammer at full swing.
'I was face down in mud but I managed to shout to Sergeant Lewis that I'd had been shot.'
Lance Sergeant Collins shows the bruise left by the impact of the bullet. He was left with severe bruising
He added: 'He replied in disbelief. So I said again: 'Seriously Grant, I've been shot in the back.
'He crawled over to me, lifted up my body armour and physically removed the bullet with his bare hands.
'I was afraid that I would be bleeding heavily and I told Platoon Sergeant Lewis not to tell him how bad it was.
The strike mark of the bullet where it hit the bottom of Lance Sergeant Collins' ceramic body armour plate
'I was amazed when he said: 'You've just got a bruise - there's no blood.'
Mr Collins, of Cardigan, West Wales, was left in excruciating pain from the bullet wound and was airlifted to an army hospital in Afghanistan where is recovering.
Doctors at the Camp Bastion hospital have told him he would have died if the bullet had struck him just millimetres lower.
He said: 'The bullet hit the very bottom right-hand side of my ceramic body armour back plate, literally right at the edge.
'Any lower and the doctor said that it would have gone straight through me, hitting my kidneys.
'The bullet was a 7.62mm round - that's a high calibre bullet to be hit by, but it shows you that the body armour works.
'I wouldn't be sitting here now telling you this story if I hadn't been wearing one.
'If I ever meet the person who designed our body armour, I'll buy them a pint.'
Mr Collins joined the Army a few days after his 16th birthday and has served his country for almost 11 years - seeing action in Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Iraq.
His mother Deana, and sister, Megan, who live in Cardigan, have been told of his lucky escape and are hoping he will get home leave before returning to the front line.
dailymail.co.uk