A SOLDIER serving in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan has written home claiming that he has lost confidence “in what we’re doing and how we’re going about it”.

In one letter, released by a close relative, the soldier, who has not been identified, said that during an operation in Nowzad, an outlying district centre in northern Helmand, his unit nearly ran out of ammunition after persistent attacks by the Taleban.

“I’ve been in this place for nine weeks now and it’s doing my head in,” he wrote.

He added that his “nerves were shot” from being constantly fired at by the Taleban.

The serviceman, whose family lives in the Midlands, claimed that his unit was also running out of food and water and that morale was at “rock bottom”.

He wrote that he had been shot at with rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds during a recent operation.

He added: “Every time I hear a bang my pulse rate races. It’s broke me and I am definitely putting in a transfer when I get back.

“We were told it was a 48-hour op, so we did not take anything but ammo and water. It took them two weeks to get some of our kit out, and then most of it was missing.”

The soldier’s relative, who released the letter, said that the soldiers were fighting a lost cause. The relative said: “He’s been in the Army since his teens. It’s all he ever wanted to do. He was looking forward to doing a good job in Afghanistan, but he’s a wreck now.”

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman denied that there were supply problems and defended the Afghan mission. She said: “Incredible efforts are made every day by all members of the UK task force to ensure that frontline soldiers are given the best possible support — in supplies, in air support and in every other way.

“Our mission in Afghanistan is an important and clear one. We must ensure that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for terrorists.”

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