A New Zealand soldier who picked up and threw away a live grenade to save himself and two colleagues in Afghanistan says he doesn't consider himself a hero.
Rifleman James McKie, 29, was among a group of British Army soldiers on duty in Helmand province when a grenade was thrown at them during an attack, hitting the platoon commander and landing nearby.
James McKie says he managed to pick it up and throw it, moments before it exploded in mid-air.
He said he didn't have a lot of time to think as the grenade was "right there" on a very small roof.
"You couldn't throw yourself off the roof, because there was a definite possiblity of injury there because it was so high, couldn't throw yourself off the front of the roof because you would have landed in an alleyway where the enemy was, so I didn't have any other option.
"I could have done nothing and got hurt, so I thought I'd do something and try and just get it off the roof," he told Morning Report.
"I don't think what I've done is particularly heroic, I was just looking out for the rest of the platoon and myself."
"We've taken heavy casualties. Twenty-three of us came out here, four of us have been killed and I'm the eighth one wounded, so no, I don't feel like a hero."
James McKie's father, Andrew McKie, says he heard from his son on Friday and was told he was fine, despite injuries to his face and arm.
Mr McKie says his son did not give details about how he was injured, and his family only found out the full story of his son's heroism on Tuesday morning.
The commander is recovering in hospital from leg injuries and the other soldier involved was unhurt.
James McKie recently joined the British Army after having previously been in the New Zealand Defence Force.
