A soldier who lost his right arm in a grenade attack has been fitted with a bionic limb - and he is getting to grips with it fast.
Corporal Andrew Garthwaite, believed to be the first of the British military amputees to be fitted with the pioneering prosthetic, lost the limb in September in a rocket-propelled grenade attack while serving in Afghanistan.
The attack killed another soldier but Garthwaite, 23, of the Queen's Royal Lancers, was lucky by comparison.
Slow and steady: The soldier is getting to grips with the pioneering limb. 'It's great,' says Garthwaite
Careful: Garthwaite is so adept with his new arm, which he controls by flexing his back and pectoral muscles, that he can pour water into a cup without spilling any.Pioneering: Corporal Andrew Garthwaite lost his right arm after a grenade attack in September while he was serving in Afghanistan
And now he has two working arms against after being fitted at the Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak Hospitals in Birmingham with the new arm which he controls by using muscles in his chest and back.
He told the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS): 'When I first got hit and was in the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital I was thinking, 'Oh God this is it, I can't ride my bike again."
'I was thinking of everything I couldn't do. But then the prosthetist came from Headley Court to measure me for a new arm.
'He said: "We've got this new arm which will work for you and in the future there's an operation called Target Nerve Reinnervation you will be able to receive - it won't be as good as a normal arm but it will be the next best thing."
That put a bit of light in my face. Now, since I've got the first stage of it I'm a lot happier.
'It's great - I mean I'm gutted I lost my arm but I'm just thankful there's something out there.'
Corporal Garthwaite uses his pectoral muscles to pick something up and his back muscles to put it down again.
He said he has had to learn to be careful when he exerts pressure with his bionic hand, which can easily smash an egg or be painful for anyone he shakes hands with.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: 'We are committed to achieving the best in medical services and innovation for our personnel.
'All military patients receive the best care and prosthetics that are currently available and suitable for their rehabilitation.'
If Corporal Garthwaite's new arm proves successful other troops who suffer amputations could be fitted with similar prosthetics.
