A soldier who grew up and went to school in Bracknell has told of his adventures in Afghanistan with his metal bomb-disposing buddy.

Corporal Matthew Clarke is serving on the front line in southern Afghanistan and is in charge of a state-of-the-art robot called Talon.

Matthew, 32, who is a former pupil of Easthampstead Park School in Great Hollands, serves with 15 Field Support Squadron, Royal Engineers, and is in charge of the counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) operations in Helmand Province.

Matthew is part of the Talisman team equipped with vehicles to clear deadly roadside devices along the roads.

The robot is remote controlled by Matthew and is able to go on ahead when explosives are spotted and clear them safely away.

He said: “The Talon is a fantastic piece of kit, as is Talisman.

“It is a life-saving concept and it means that that we are self-sufficient if we discover a device because we can destroy it from a safe disatance.”

Matthew was recently involved in Operation Tor Lari Pakawal, during which the Talisman team cleared a number of roadside bombs using Talon, which allowed local people to go about their daily business.

Matthew added: “It was a good operation because we all used Talisman assets in the roles that we were trained in.

“I was able to use Talon to blow up suspected IEDs, which was brilliant and helped me build up invaluable experience as a Talon subject matter expert.”

Matthew, who now lives in Ripon in  North Yorkshire, has been in Afghanistan since last May, where he started as a heavy plant operator.

After doing his training with the Talon equipment, he will return to his original role.

He is a former pupil of Easthampstead Park School in Ringmead and joined the army in 1998.

His father was a member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and his brother is in the tactical communications wing of the RAF.