A PARATROOPER who came under a ferocious hail of Taliban gunfire as he saved the life of a wounded American sergeant is the first British soldier serving in Afghanistan to be recommended for the Victoria Cross.

Private Peter McKinley, 21, a trained first aid soldier, endured 15 minutes of sustained attack from heavy machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades as he treated the US soldier during one of the most intense battles experienced by the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment.

Army commanders have described McKinley’s rescue effort in Helmand province as a “massive display of bravery” and have put his name forward to the Interdepartmental Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals.

It has previously been speculated that he was in the running for the VC along with several others but it now appears he is going to be the first to receive the medal. The VC is the highest award in the British military honours system and the highest award for valour. The last soldier to receive the medal was Private Johnson Beharry who twice saved the lives of members of his unit in Iraq in 2004, making him the first living recipient of the VC since 1969.

McKinley, from Manchester, was part of a 100-man quick reaction force sent by helicopter to Sangin in northern Helmand after a US supply convoy was ambushed by the Taliban in mid-June.

Troops from the US 10th Mountain Division were trying to clear the area of insurgents when their convoy of 10 Humvee jeeps came under attack.

The paras were flown in from the British base at Camp Bastion, 30 miles to the southwest, and fanned out around the American convoy to form a defensive cordon. But, as darkness fell, several dozen heavily armed Taliban moved in for a further assault. A burst of rocket-propelled grenades opened the new attack, seriously wounding two US troops, including a sergeant, as their Humvee was hit.

As cries of “medic, medic” rang out, McKinley leapt up and sprinted 50 yards across open ground to the jeep as enemy rounds passed overhead.

The US sergeant’s face was shredded by shrapnel, his eye was dislodged, and shrapnel fragments were embedded in his neck and legs. He had a broken arm and was bleeding profusely.

“They were still firing at us when I ran back to the Humvee,” McKinley said afterwards. “The sergeant was in a pretty bad way, but my training just kicked in and I spent about 15 minutes looking after his wounds, stemming the flow of blood and keeping his airway clear.”

Major Will Pike, commander of A Company, said: “He was very brave while completely disregarding his own safety.”

Another British serviceman expected to receive a gallantry award is a Special Boat Service sergeant major who planned and led the rescue of a kidnapped British engineer northeast of Kandahar at the end of July.

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