Scientist injured when ‘safe’ booby trap exploded wins payout from MoD

A BRITISH scientist who suffered life-changing injuries when a booby trap declared safe by military experts exploded in front of him has won a six-figure compensation payout from the Ministry of Defence.

Lee Peters, 51, feared he would bleed to death when the device – which had been left for seven days before it was tested after being deemed low priority by security – blew up.

The scientist had been working in the MoD laboratory in Kandahar during the height of the Afghan war in 2011 when he was asked to forensically test a suspicious package deemed safe for routine examinations.

He suffered permanent damage to his eyesight and lost three fingers on his left hand.

He said: “As soon as I heard the bang that day, I was under no illusion as to what I was facing. It was like being in a movie – everything went in slow motion. I knew my fingers were blown clean off but I could barely see. I thought if I fainted in there, I would die because there was so much blood.”

Mr Peters was rescued when a colleague heard shouting and came to his aid. He was taken to hospital where surgeons worked for 13 hours in an attempt to save his hand. Mr Peters, from Wrangle in Lincolnshire, said he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder following the blast.

Tracey Benson, Mr Peters’s lawyer with Slater and Gordon, said the MoD demonstrated “shocking negligence”.

An MoD spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individual cases, but all claims are carefully considered and where the Ministry of Defence has a legal liability to pay compensation we do so.”