Four years ago, Jamie Rudd was helping customers in a DIY store. Now he's finding roadside bombs in Afghanistan.

It's been a dramatic career change for Sapper Jamie Rudd, now in the front line in Helmand province.

Spr Rudd, 25, from Chatham, is a member of 52 Talisman Engineer Squadron in the Corps of Royal Engineers.

Jamie's specific role as driver and operator of a Buffalo, a highly protected vehicle fitted with the latest technology which allows them to find improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The IEDs can be defused from within the safety of their vehicle.

Jamie said: "Taking on the threat of IEDs is a big job - these weapons have been responsible for so many deaths, military and civilian, here in Afghanistan.

"But it's very rewarding work. By finding and removing IEDs that the insurgents have laid we are saving lives."

Jamie lives and was brought up in Chatham, where his fiance Jordan and parents Jane and Colin all live.

He used to be a pupil Rainham Mark Grammar School in Rainham Mark, and was also a cadet at the area's Army Cadet Force unit.

After leaving school, Jamie worked at Dixons and B&Q before joining the Army in 2007.

This is his first operational tour, but during his time in the Army he has served overseas in Belize and Jordan.