A FORMER Royal Marine has admitted his emotions “got the better” of him when he left an explosive voicemail for a Government aide while trying to get more than 170 rescue animals to safety from Afghanistan.

Paul “Pen” Farthing, from Dovercourt, arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport in a privately funded charter flight at about 7.30am on Sunday.

It followed his Operation Ark campaign to get staff and animals from the Nowzad shelter he founded 15 years ago in Kabul out of the country.

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A recording, obtained by The Times, captured the highly-charged Mr Farthing, 52, berating Peter Quentin, a special adviser to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

In the expletive-laden message, the ex-Marine accused Mr Quentin of “blocking” efforts to arrange the evacuation flight.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Farthing told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I’m incredibly embarrassed about my language, I do apologise to everybody who’s listened to that.

“I was at the lowest point I could possibly be. I understand how the world works but emotions got the better of me, so for all those who had to listen to that I do apologise for my language.

“I should not have said it like that, but the sentiment, yes, I was just incredibly upset, angry, frustrated, it was the lowest point. I had no other option, I didn’t know what else to do.

“So that’s why you’ve probably heard some colourful language.”

After receiving a huge international following on social media, the Government quickly fell under huge pressure to assist Mr Farthing with Operation Ark.

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However, he was quick to dismiss claims that he was helped by the UK Government to get into Kabul airport with his animals.

He said: “Nobody in the British Government facilitated my entry into that airport – I did that with the Taliban.

“I came up to the British checkpoint, that was the first time – and this is well into the airport, the Taliban and British are stood there, there’s some barbed wire separating them – that was the first time I spoke to any British people.

“So whoever is making any accusations or any comments needs to actually have been stood there on the ground to see how I got into that airport.

“Nobody facilitated my entry… any interpreters or anybody else, there was me and the truck full of dogs and cats, which went into a cargo hold where you cannot put people.”

All of the almost 100 dogs and 70 cats on the flight were “healthy”, with the dogs placed in kennels, according to Dominic Dyer, an animal welfare campaigner and supporter of Mr Farthing.

It is understood all animals arrived in a safe condition.