FIRST DOUBLE AMPUTEE TO

A BRITISH army hero has just become the first military double amputee to reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro – and says it’s all thanks to a bundle of love notes from his wife. written: “Bet you are smashing it babe. I will have that parmo waiting for you when you get home. Love you xx.”

James said: “In those moments it’s incredible the reserves of strength you find in yourself. I just flicked a switch in my head, got up and carried on.

“Pain is only temporary, but getting to the top would last forever.”

He added: “Naiomi was my rock throughout. She levelled me, kept me positive, and I owe her everything.”

James said he broke down after he and his team completed the climb.

He said: “We’d walked for 14 hours the previous day, had one hour’s sleep, and climbed for 12 hours that day. When they finally put me down and st stopped hugging me, I just sat and cried, unable to take this all in.”

And, of course, t there was one final n note in his stash, w which proved Naiomi had never doubted her man would finish what he had started.

It said: “You did it b babe, b I Ik knew you would. Now get home. I’m missing you xxx.”

James lost his legs not long after meeting Naiomi in 2009 after he stepped on an IED in Helmand. Medics feared he would die.

He proved them wrong and returned to the UK, but then piled on seven stone and sank into depression, traumatised by the horrors that he had witnessed in Afghanistan. It was exercise that helped him turn his life