Tributes to teenage Military Cross winner

A soldier rescued under enemy fire in Afghanistan has hailed his Military Cross-winning comrade as a hero.

Captain Andy Bell, 26, paid tribute to the bravery of 19-year-old Private Alex Kennedy after he dodged the bullets to stop the bleeding from two machine gun shots to the legs.

Private Kennedy, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was awarded Britain's third highest bravery award for his heroics during the Helmand province firefight in June last year.

Capt Bell said: "He put himself in harm's way in no uncertain terms. It was the most intense firefight we had experienced, he performed admirably, I could not have asked for any more."

The bullets missed all the major arteries in his leg but he could have bled to death had the main wound to his right leg not been immediately stopped. Most of his colleagues were some distance back, facing fierce fire.

Private Kennedy, who had been in the army just eight months when he performed the selfless action, said: "You are grateful for being alive but you do put your life on the line and it is a job that needs done so we do it."