Good luck in Tokyo, Dad! RAF veteran who lost his legs in Afghanistan is hoping to fly high at Paralympics

An RAF serviceman who lost his legs in Afghanistan wants to prove he 'can still do what normal dads do' – by representing Britain in wheelchair rugby at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Stuart Robinson, 39, will compete at the Games – which begin tomorrow – to show his four children that 'they don't need to worry about me'.

The former RAF Regiment patrol commander was an ambitious, sports-mad young corporal, who ran competitively for the force and had four military tours of Iraq behind him.

Stuart Robinson, 39, will compete at the Games – which begin tomorrow – to show his four children that 'they don't need to worry about me

But in 2013 his military vehicle was blown up by a Taliban roadside bomb during an ammunition run in Helmand, throwing him 30ft. 

'I lost both my legs', Mr Robinson said.

He woke up from an eight-week induced coma at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital with his jaw wired and shoulders fractured. 

This week Mr Robinson will go for gold with the GB wheelchair rugby team at the Tokyo Games

The veteran added: 'My immediate thoughts were to get on with life.'

He came across leaflets about wheelchair rugby while at RAF Headley Court rehabilitation centre in Surrey and pursued the sport as part of his recovery. 

In 2013 his military vehicle was blown up by a Taliban roadside bomb during an ammunition run in Helmand, throwing him 30ft

This week Mr Robinson will go for gold with the GB wheelchair rugby team at the Tokyo Games.

He has two children, George and Amelia, with his wife Amy, as well as Poppy and Honey from a previous relationship.

Mrs Robinson, 40, who lives in Morecambe, Lancashire, said: 'George is just really proud of him. He's his dad and his hero – but not because he's in a chair.'

The rugby team will compete on Wednesday in their first pool match against Canada.