AN Army sergeant who put his life on the line to save two badly injured soldiers in Afghanistan has said he was “just doing his job”.

Ashley Hill, 30, from Rayleigh, was given the distinguished Military Cross for his bravery. But when his mum asked him what he’d done to earn it, he simply replied: “I did my job.”

In reality, the modest platoon sergeant in the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment had done far more than that.

After rescuing his two injured comrades, the dad of three then held off the enemy insurgents for a further 96 hours in order to make the roads safe for his colleagues.

Ashley was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan when the dramatic incident took place in November 2009.

The father of three was patrolling a dusty road in the district of Nade-e-Ali, in Helmand Province, with his platoon when the Taliban attacked.

One of the men was shot in the head, another in the leg. At the same time a passing convoy vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb, injuring another two soldiers.

Sgt Hill, who has also previously served in Iraq, remembered: “I’d been in situations like that before, so I knew you just have to keep calm and get on with it.

“I ran over and got both my injured lads, picked them up and tried to patch up their wounds. I then had to try to get them over a wall to safety.

“It sounds strange, but before one of them would move he insisted on having a photo taken with me!

“When you are in that situation, the adrenalin kicks in and sometimes it’s actually quite a nice feeling. It’s hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t been in that situation.

“He was lying on the ground saying ‘come on sarg I want a photo with you and then we’ll go’. So we took one and then I got him to safety.

“Everyone pulled through, including the two injured soldiers, so that was a lucky day.

“I’ve lost friends serving out there and it’s never easy. These people become your family when you are away. You have to put your life in their hands and vice versa.”

Army officials heaped praise on Sgt Hill for his actions that day, saying his “firm leadership, calm command and personal courage under constant fire was staggering.”

After leaving FitzWimarc School, in Rayleigh, Sgt Hill, now living in Surrey with three daughters and wife Kelly, 29, enrolled at South Essex College to study engineering, but after a year he decided to pursue another career in the Army.

His mum, Sandra, of Church Road, Rayleigh, said: “We are so proud of Ash.

“He rang me on the Christmas Day to tell me what had happened. I said ‘what did you do Ash? He said ‘I did my job.’ That’s him all over, modest and not dramatic.”