How the PlayStation generation is fighting the Taliban

He told his fellow MPs he hoped they would leave "without firing a single shot".

More than a year later, British troops are involved in the heaviest fighting since the Korean War, with the death toll now standing at 73.

And more than 100 soldiers from the Light Dragoons - including many from South Yorkshire - are in the thick of it.

Sergeant David Gray, aged 36, from Doncaster, is the commander of a Scimitar tank which, alone, has fired 81,500 rounds.

He and his comrades have been in nearly 40 battles during their five months in Helmand province.

"Some of the big ones have lasted four to five hours," he said. "In one of the contacts, the gunner fired 2,000 rounds. This has definitely been the hardest and busiest tour I have been on in my life.

"You have to give the Taliban some respect. They know the ground extremely well. It's their country. They know every inch of the ground. They've got an underground system of tunnels, rat-runs and bunkers.

"We've been lucky we've had no serious injuries yet. It's the infantry who've been hit hard. I wouldn't like to do their job."

David and his colleagues all have tales of where they have come close to death.

'There was a heatwave which burned the hairs off my gunner's arms'

Sgt Chris Homewood

"We were parked up on a bank," he said. "I heard a great big explosion to my right-hand side and a rocket-propelled grenade had landed about one foot from the vehicle.

"I heard the Apache helicopter above us radio back to say we had actually been hit. It was that close. I wouldn't say I was frightened. It was more shock.

"The other vehicle took the guy out. He was hard to see in the long grass but we got no more firing from him."

Sergeant Chris Homewood, 28, from Kendray, Barnsley, has also had a close shave.

He said: "We were on patrol and we stopped in a position looking into a village that we knew the Taliban had been operating from. The place looked deserted.

"There didn't seem to be any civilians in the area. Then, suddenly, they attacked us.

"They fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades at the same time. Four mortar shells landed around 20 metres away from me.

"I had my head out of the turret and I was looking through my binos. They fired a rocket-propelled grenade and it hit the back corner of the vehicle. The whole vehicle shook. I went deaf and my binos shattered. The vehicle filled with smoke. There was a heat-wave which burned the hairs off my gunner's arms and neck.

"I told the driver to fire some smoke. I ducked down into the vehicle to check everyone was alright but I had to go back up because I needed to see what was happening. I decided the best thing was to pull out.

"As we drove down the hill, I spotted the dust rail from the back-blast of the rocket. I told my driver to turn right and to come around the side of the hill to outflank them.

"We opened fire and we killed the three teams of men who'd fired the RPGs - I reckon eight to nine guys. I wasn't pleased that they had to die but I had to do it.

"My feelings went from shock to anger. I thought, 'They've tried to kill me and my crew'. To be honest, I wasn't thinking about myself. I'm in command and it's my job to keep them safe. My driver had just got married before we came on tour."

Chris, who has been in the Army 12 years, is full of admiration for teenagers in his unit who have seen as much action as he has.

He said: "I've got lads who were literally boys just 12 months ago but are men now. They can stand up on their own two feet. They've got the lives of other crew members in their hands. They make the right decisions and it shows the character of the lads coming through."

Lance Corporal Karl Lambie, 31, from Doncaster, said: "I've only been here a month and I've been in four contacts with the Taliban.

"You see villagers leaving in droves and you know it's going to kick off. The atmosphere changes."

Karl, who has a wife Rachel and six-month old son Liam, said: "I have mixed feelings about whether we should be out here.

"Yes, we should be taking the terrorists on, but you can't occupy someone else's country when they're willing to die for it. It's an actual war out here."

British soldiers are bound by tight guidelines which prevent them opening fire unless they are threatened directly.

David said: "We never fire if there are women and kids in the area - even if there are Taliban around. Nobody wants to kill kids."

Trooper Gary Thomson, 20, from Retford, Nottinghamshire, is the driver of a Scimitar tank. Temperatures inside the vehicles can reach more than 140F.

Gary said: "It's been hard getting used to the living conditions – particularly out in the desert.

"It's funny when there's a contact. You don't think about it until later when you get back and then you think it could have gone a different way.

"You are hatched down and you are looking through a letter box. You just have to concentrate on what you're doing."

Like most of the troops, Gary finds being away from his family the hardest part of being in Afghanistan.

'I just talk about planning holidays and what we'll do when I get home'

Trooper Gary Thomson

Gary, whose fiance Fran is a student, said: "She absolutely hates me being out here.

"I normally ring her about once every three days but, when we're out in the desert, I might only get to speak to her once in three weeks and then I can't tell her where I am or what I'm doing.

"I just talk about planning holidays and what we'll do when I get home. When I went home it rained for two weeks but I didn't give a damn. It was nice to see rain."

David, who has been in the regiment 18 years is twice-divorced - a fact he partly blames on Army life.

He said: "I can understand why the young lads don't like being away but I joined the Army to get away and do some travelling."

Chris added: "At such a young age, it's always hard. I have young lads under my command who constantly look to me for help.

"It's a different culture from when I joined but I personally think that the ones that are joining now are better than ever. They know they're going to see action."

Chris's comments are echoed by Army photographer Jon Bevan.

The 36-year-old corporal, who follows them into battle, said: "In the morning, they can be fighting and killing and, in the afternoon, they can be on their PlayStation.

"I was recently with a doctor who is out here. He was with the Paras at Goose Green in the Falklands and he told me that, what he went through that day, these guys are going through every day.

"We take the mickey out of them as the PlayStation generation but they are doing the business out here."

Afghanistan factfile

US and British forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, following the September 11 attacks. The Taliban government had stood accused of sheltering Osama Bin Laden and providing training camps for Al Qaeda terrorists, and reports claim 90 per cent of heroin arriving in the UK comes from Afghanistan.

THE Taliban were quickly defeated and a new government installed but, two years later, the Taliban began returning in larger numbers.

IN 2006 Defence Secretary John Reid announced 3,500 British troops were being sent to Helmand province. He famously said he hoped they would return "without firing a single shot".

SINCE then it is estimated British forces have fired more than two million rounds and troop levels have had to be increased to around 7,500. Troops from other countries, including America, Canada, Denmark, Holland and Estonia, make a total coalition force of 35,000.

SO far 73 British servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan, with 22 lives lost this year. A further 511 have been injured or fallen ill this year.