ST HELENS war hero Andy Reid inspired aspiring soldiers at St Helens College as he gave them a talk on his time in the armed forces.

The veteran of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars visited the group of Public and Uniformed Services students to give a motivational talk.

The students heard about Andy’s tours of duty and gained an understanding of his difficulties after suffering numerous injuries in combat.

Andy described his long road to recovery which involved intense rehabilitation.

Andy, formerly of the Third Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, lost three limbs in 2009 after standing on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), 10 days before the end of his tour in Afghanistan.

He now works for the organisation AIM, ‘Amputation, Inspiration and Motivation’.

Andy said: “It would be disrespectful to the soldiers who did not return home to not move my life forward.

“That is why I continue to challenge myself and hope that the students challenge themselves too. It is important to set goals and remain positive.

“It’s incredible to see what you can achieve without limbs, so these students certainly have a head start,” added Andy, who is also the author of ‘Standing Tall: The Inspirational Story of a True British Hero’ and has raised over £150,000 for charitable causes.

For information about AIM log on to weareaim.org and details about courses at St Helens College call 0800 99 66 99. or visit sthelens.ac.uk.