The first casualty of war and all that.

Marine's 'miracle escape' rumbled

The story of a Royal Marine who cheated death thanks to his bullet-proof helmet has been revealed to be not quite as dramatic as it first seemed.

Three weeks ago it was reported that commando Eric Walderman escaped death by an inch after four bullets lodged in his helmet when he was fired on by Iraqi forces in the port of Umm Qsar.

But it has emerged the holes in the helmet were caused by Mr Walderman's fellow marines, part of the 40 Commando's Alpha Company, based at Taunton, Somerset.

They hit the helmet which was lying on top of a pack as they tried to detonate an unexploded anti-tank weapon.

Concern

Mr Walderman, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, then put back on his helmet and posed for photographers.

He gave no interviews but did not reveal the real story of the bullet holes.

The pictures were published around the world and caused grave concern among his family in Britain, especially his girlfriend Lindsey - a hotel receptionist in Blackpool.

At the time Mr Walderman's 'miraculous' survival was credited to his tough Kevlar helmet which are 25% to 40% more resistant to projectiles than their steel predecessors of equal weight.