BRITAIN’S first soldier to win the Victoria Cross since the Falklands war, Private Johnson Beharry, has separated from his wife after the couple struggled to come to terms with the aftermath of his Iraq experiences.

The soldier was presented with the Victoria Cross, the country’s highest award for valour, by the Queen at Buckingham Palace 11 days ago with his wife Lynthia, 23, alongside him.

But last night Beharry, 25, said the strain of fighting in Iraq and his subsequent recovery from wounds had led to “difficulties” in the relationship.

In a joint statement the couple, who have been married for three years, said: “We have been through a lot and it has not been easy, either for Johnson in Iraq and then recovering from his wounds, or Lynthia facing the uncertainty of his deployment and then recovery. We have come to a crossroads and are now taking some time apart to consider our futures.”

Beharry was the first soldier in 23 years to be awarded the Victoria Cross on account of his courage under fire in two ambushes in southern Iraq when he managed to lead more than 30 soldiers to safety.

The private with the 1st Battalion, the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment was the driver of a Warrior armoured vehicle when his convoy was ambushed in the city of al-Amarah, north of Basra, on May 1, 2004.

The attack destroyed his periscope and he had to drive 1,500 yards through enemy fire with his head exposed out of the hatch. He stopped to rescue his platoon commander before guiding the five-vehicle convoy to safety. He was hit by a bullet that penetrated his helmet.

Five weeks later Beharry was ambushed again and saved the lives of the soldiers in his vehicle. Despite suffering a serious head wound from a rocket-propelled grenade he regained control of the Warrior and reversed out of the ambush.

He later lost consciousness and collapsed into a coma from which he did not emerge for several weeks.

The battalion returned from Iraq in November and since then Beharry has been undergoing treatment for head and shoulder injuries.

Born in Grenada, Beharry is one of only 14 living recipients of the Victoria Cross. Last night a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said it was giving the couple all the help and advice it could.

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