A HAMPSHIRE soldier who was seriously wounded in a bomb blast in Iraq has been flown back to England.

Private Darron Curtis arrived at Birmingham General Hospital yesterday and is expected to make a full recovery.

His wife of two months, Haylee, received a call in the early hours of the morning to tell her he was in the country.

She said: "When I found out I was just so excited about him coming home. All the family are travelling to Birmingham to see him."

The 22-year-old, of Lavington Gardens, North Baddesley, needed operations to his neck, left hand and eye when he suffered shrapnel injuries following an explosion outside a military base in Shaibah, 20 miles south-west of Basra.

His dad Martin Curtis, of Onibury Road, Midanbury, Southampton, told the Daily Echo: "When he's in uniform he's very proud and whatever he does he always does to the best of his ability. He's pretty resilient and we hope he gets over what's happened and can get on with his life."

Pte Curtis was one of nine troops and a number of Iraqi civilians treated in hospital following the blast at an entrance to a compound.

He had joined the Army about three years ago but had only been serving in Iraq for three weeks before the attack took place last Thursday.

It is not clear who was responsible for the explosion, but a group claiming to be affiliated to Al-Qaida has alleged that it carried out a suicide attack in the area in retaliation for British abuse of Iraqi prisoners.