A LIGHT glinting in the trees warned Corporal Gareth Hughes that something was about to happen.

As he turned to alert the commander of his night patrol, Taliban insurgents opened fire.

Within seconds the 25-year-old was hit. But believing the bullet had only struck his body armour, Cpl Hughes pushed forward and fired back.

As the searing pain intensified, the former Ecclesbourne School pupil looked down and saw blood coming from a wound in his stomach.

"You develop a sixth sense about when things are going to happen and always have to be prepared. When I saw a light in the trees ahead I just knew," said Cpl Hughes.

"The insurgents were about 40m away and I was hit within seconds.

"I felt the hit, but initially thought it had just struck my body armour so carried on firing. It felt hot and like I had been kicked in the ribs – then I saw the blood. I shouted for help and tried to stem the bleeding with my own hand.

"To be honest the main thing I felt was relief, relief I could still move my arms and my legs and relief about the fact that I was still breathing."

With bullets still flying, Cpl Hughes was pulled to a nearby checkpoint where he was treated until a helicopter arrived to fly him to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province for treatment.

The bullet hit Cpl Hughes at the bottom of his back before skimming his ribs and coming out the other side of his body – missing his internal organs by just centimetres.

But doctors feared the worst and to be sure there was no internal bleeding or lasting damage surgeons performed an exploratory laparoscopy – an internal examination done by making a 25cm long cut into Cpl Hughes' chest so they could look inside.

He said: "Luckily there was no damage to any of my internal organs but it could have been a completely different story. The round missed my kidneys, liver and lungs by a matter of centimetres.

"I know I am one of the lucky ones. There is no lasting damage and the only signs left are the three scars on my body."

Cpl Hughes is in the RAF police and was on a voluntary six-month tour of duty when he was injured on July 4.

His role is to train Afghan police in the war-torn country, and on the day of the incident Cpl Hughes was working alongside Afghan officers and the Light Dragoons, who were clearing an area in Babaji, as part of Operation Panther's Claw.

Hooked up to various drips and on strong painkillers, Cpl Hughes was flown from Camp Bastion to Birmingham and taken to Selly Oak Hospital.

He was discharged on Sunday and returned home to Chaddesden, where he has been recovering.

Cpl Hughes said: "There were lots of other soldiers that had been wounded that were on that flight and a lot of them were in a worse state than I was.

"Being shot has not at all put me off going back out there, I would go back tomorrow if I could. All the lads are still out there and I wanted to step off the plane with them at the end of the tour, but instead I came home on a stretcher.

"Our job out there is hard and very intense. You are out on operations for days at a time, but it is worthwhile and you can see that progress is slowly being made.

"I feel that we are making a difference."

There have been calls for the British troops in Afghanistan to be given better kit and, in particular, more helicopters so they can travel without fear of roadside bombs. But Cpl Hughes said: "The kit that I was personally given was more than sufficient and, with regards to helicopters, it is not for me to comment. All I know is when I needed one there was one there within minutes."

Cpl Hughes admitted that he wrote emotional letters to his parents, Jayne and David, and girlfriend Katerina Kyriacou and gave them to a friend to pass on if he did not return.

He trained with Sergeant Ben Ross, from the Royal Military Police, who was killed by a suicide bomber on patrol Gereshk, Helmand province.

He said: "Sgt Ross was someone I had done all my training with and was a great bloke.

"I was in a different area on the day when he was killed. News that someone you know has died on duty does affect you but it also makes you more determined to get on with the job."

After leaving Ecclesbourne School, in Duffield, Cpl Hughes started a three-year degree course in quantity surveying at Nottingham Trent University. But in his second year he decided to change career and signed up for the RAF police.

He officially joined in April 2006 and was posted to the Falklands for four months last year.

Cpl Hughes admitted that his mother was nervous about him going out to Afghanistan and said he called her from Camp Bastion after the shooting to say he was coming home early.

He added: "I didn't want to scare her so dropped the fact that I had been shot into conversation and said I would be coming home early. To be honest I don't think she took it all in."

Jayne, 50, confirmed that was true.

She said: "Waiting for him to get back to the UK was the worst 48 hours of my life. I didn't know what to expect and he was hooked up to various drips and things when I saw him.

"He was incredibly lucky, the bullet missed all of his vital organs. I am incredibly proud of my son and all the people out there."

Click here to leave a message for Our Boys in Afghanistan