A MOTHER whose son died while serving in Afghanistan features in a new documentary that is being shown tonight on BBC One.

Surviving Helmand tells the story of four people from Wales whose lives were changed forever by the war in Afghanistan.

Among them is Sarah Adams, whose son James Prosser died from injuries sustained in a bomb attack on his Warrior armoured vehilce in September 2009.

“An IED (improvised explosive device) blew the Warrior James was driving up into the air," she said. "He was semi-conscious when they pulled him out. They got him into a helicopter and took him to Camp Bastion, but they were unable to save him. He died from head injuries and an aortic tear”.

Private Prosser received a full military funeral in Cwmbran, which provided some consolation for his mother.

But the trauma wouldn’t go away. With the war still raging, Ms Adams felt she had to go to Camp Bastion, where James had died, to try and find some resolution to her grief.

“I wanted to be where he closed his eyes for the last time," she said. "It was so overwhelmingly important to me”.

She met then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was sympathetic to her but felt it was too dangerous for her to travel to the warzone.

Ms Adams then launched a one-woman campaign to persuade the Ministry of Defence to let her go - and she succeeded. She flew to Camp Bastion in June 2012, three years after her son’s death. 

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Upon her return to the UK, Ms Adams campaigned to improve service conditions for the soldiers, and advised the Army on how they could take a more sensitive approach to bereaved families. She continues to be an ambassador for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, and this year she was awarded an MBE for her services to the Armed Forces and their families.

In Surviving Helmand, Ms Adams and three other people discuss the trauma of service, injury or bereavement in Afghanistan, and reveal how they have used their courage and resilience to benefit others.

Also appearing in the documentary are former soldiers Geraint 'Gez' Jones, from Wrexham; Steve Jones, from Cardigan, and Hugh Keir, from Crynant.

Surviving Helmand will be shown on BBC One Wales tonight (Tuesday, November 9 ) at 9pm, and will be shown again on BBC Two Wales on Thursday at 11.15pm. It will also be available on iPlayer.