THE lack of helicopters in Afghanistan remains “shocking” to the decorated officer who first led British soldiers into lawless Helmand province more than three years ago.

Colonel Stuart Tootal stood at the head of Colchester-based 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment as they found themselves engaged in bitter fighting against Taleban insurgents in summer 2006.

Their task in Helmand had been billed as peace support, with then Defence Secretary John Reid famously saying he would be “happy to leave in three years’ time without firing one shot”.

But in the first six months of the mission, paratroopers fired nearly half-a-million rounds and the 3 Para battlegroup lost 15 soldiers.

Three years on, more than 200 British soldiers have been killed in Helmand with no sign of the fighting easing off.

Col Tootal, who resigned from the Army in 2007 with a harsh blast of criticism at the equipment and welfare support provided to soldiers, said there was “more than enough information to indicate what we were getting in to”.

He said: “There was too much wishful thinking at the MoD, along with a misappreciation of the environment and a poor understanding of what had happened in Afghanistan before we arrived there. This meant when we went in, everything was in short supply. We lacked troops and there was a woeful shortage of helicopters and other equipment.”

Col Tootal said the Paras were “the ideal soldiers” to weather the storm that broke in Helmand.

He continued: “There can be no suggestion we went looking for trouble because anyone who has experienced combat does not go looking for it again.

“My men accepted the risks and adapted their approach to very difficult conditions. We held the same ground with 1,200 soldiers that nearly five times that number are now doing and that is testament to the skill and fortitude of paratroopers.”

Colchester’s soldiers went back to Helmand last year and are expected to return next winter, but from his position in Civvy Street Col Tootal predicts they will again lack the helicopters to carry out their mission.

He said: “There has been a 60 per cent increase in the number of helicopters since 2006, but in the same period there’s been a 300 per cent increase in troops on the ground.

“The helicopters that are in Helmand are not of the right type and capacity, which is denying our troops mobility and forcing them to run the gauntlet of roadside bombs.

“I find that quite shocking three years on. The Government needs to listen to what continues to be said on the issue by senior military commanders.

“This is going to be a long campaign and we have to equip soldiers in the field properly.”

As well as more helicopters, Col Tootal said more troops are needed to ensure success.

He said: “The Americans have grasped this is a boots-on-the-ground campaign, but our Government has not.

“There is no point us clearing ground in Helmand, only to leave because we haven’t got the forces to hold it, because that lets the Taleban back in.

“We will only move towards stabilising Afghanistan by securing ground and using that security to allow development to take place.”

Despite his criticism of how the campaign is being conducted, Col Tootal is a supporter of the British presence in Afghanistan.

He said: “In truth it does all relate back to our own security and the adverse impact any failure in Afghanistan would have on that, by providing a safe haven for terrorists and further destabilising Pakistan. Success to me would be a stable Afghanistan that does not require the presence of foreign troops and does not export extremism and terrorism or suffer it internally.”

Back on the home front, Col Tootal now works in corporate security, but remains in touch with his old comrades through the Afghanistan Trust, a charity set up to help support paratroopers and their families injured or killed in Helmand.

Col Tootal has written a book about his experiences with 3 Para in Helmand, called Danger Close. He is giving a talk at Colchester Central Library on Tuesday.

Tickets, costing £8, are available from Red Lion Books in Colchester High Street.