A Hampshire army veteran who lost his legs in Afghanistan will be competing in the 200m final of the IPC World Championships.

Lt Dave Henson, from Bitterne Park, Southampton, detonated an IED in February 2011 while he was clearing a compound in the Nad-e-Ali South area of Helmand Province.

He was clearing the compound to let Afghan families who had been displaced by the conflict to return to their homes and the Royal Engineer search adviser to A Coy 1 Royal Irish tragically had to have both of his legs amputated.

But the 31-year-old refused to let this slow him down as he became a professional athlete competing in 100 and 200 metre sprints.

And later today Mr Henson will represent Great Britain at the IPC World Championship where he is competing in the T42 200m final.

He qualified yesterday after coming third in the first 200m heat with a time of 26.61 seconds.

But the race will not be easy as he is up against fellow Brit, Richard Whitehead, who broke his own world record at the championships yesterday with a blistering time of 24.20 seconds.

The IPC World Championship is an international track and field competition for athletes with a disability being held in Doha, Qatar.

Mr Henson, who has already begun training for the Paralympics in Rio, Brazil next year, previously won a gold medal in the 200m IT2 final at the Invictus Games last year, a sporting contest for injured former service men and women, set up by Prince Harry.