A MILFORD Haven man, who endured a Taliban siege of more than 50 days, is to feature in a documentary telling the story of one of the least known acts of heroism by the British Army in the Afghanistan conflict, a story that parallels the famous defence of Rorke’s Drift.

In 2006, a small band of brothers called Easy Company fought one of the most intense battles in British military history in a remote desert town called Musa Qala.

They were trapped in a small compound, outgunned, outnumbered, and at the mercy of the Taliban, facing massacre if they broke in.

Easy Company were surrounded and endured countless full frontal attacks with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades in the Afghan government compound they were defending, and were bombarded with mortars and rockets.

At times the Taliban got so close to breaking in, they were able to throw grenades over the walls of the compound.

Among those serving was then 14th Signal Regiment troop staff sergeant Ian Wornham, of Milford Haven, one of 88 members of Easy Company which held off the onslaught by an estimated 500 troops during the 56 day siege.

The siege, in which a quarter of the British Army’s ammunition and munitions for the year was used, only ended after commanding officer, Paratroop Major Adam Jowett’s talks with village elders.

Ian said: “Until Major Jowett went in to the talks with the elders it was pretty much every day, small arms, rockets, grenades; all the munitions they had they were using against us.”

As well as the constant, often close-quarter fighting, Ian listened with his translator to the enemy’s radio communications, with promises of drinking tea in their headquarters and killing anyone in their way.

“I could hear chit-chat all the time, it’s a bit like propaganda; I think they realised we could hear bits and pieces.

“They were ‘danger close’ by the walls, we were having regular air strikes 50 metres from the walls. It was normal daily occurrence, you’re wearing your body armour.

“The threat was always there, with the amount of troops we had and the amount we were against.

“It was 360 degrees, you’ve got to consider yourself very lucky to be alive, we lost three dead and 12 wounded out of 88; I’m sure we all consider ourselves extremely lucky, I know I do.”

Ian remembers the loss of the three members of Easy Company, including 22-year-old Lance Corporal Jon Hetherington, who he had known since he was 16.

“When Jon was killed I thought: Why him? As an ex-Para I’d served from 87, the lads I’d fought with I’d known previously. Jon’s family are from Port Talbot, I’m still in touch with his mum, his dad and stepdad.”

Ian added: “I don’t see this bringing out the dirty washing of the MOD, I don’t consider that we were left out to dry; the fast air support we got, I thought was incredible, from all nations; people were flying out of their way for us.

“I don’t want it to come across as the MOD letting us down. Yes, we were running short of food, yes we were worried, but you know what? I came out of it alive, Adam Jowett got us out of there alive.

“I didn’t starve; I could do with losing two stone now.

“They made informed decisions over the risk, it could’ve been the complete opposite; if they sent in another 80 troops in Chinooks it could’ve been a bigger disaster.

“I never felt at any point we were left there.”

“I can remember sitting there, I would ear the first few clumps of artillery coming in and we would wait to see the first person to put their body armour on, you laugh in the face of it, it’s a squaddies’ strange sense of humour.”

Imagining what could have happened if there had been a Taliban breakthrough, Ian said: “It would have been nasty to say the least; you do think about it, but you don’t, if you see what I mean.

“Yes the danger was there, it goes down to the latrines we had bobby-trapped with Claymore mines, any route into the compound we covered with Claymores.”

Speaking about the events of a decade ago, Ian said: “I think it hasn’t come out because the government would say we don’t negotiate with terrorists, but we negotiated with the Taliban for the safe release of 88 troops.

“We still had the uncertainty when Mayor Jowett was meeting the elders, who’s going to trust the Taliban?

“Once the ceasefire kicked in we had bottles of pop and barbecues, but you still had the threat in the back of your head with a bit of warm goat on the barbecue, it was quite surreal.

“I think the whole of the operation was under-estimated. We underestimated them and they underestimated what was left.

Ian hopes the broadcast 10 years later will put some ghosts to rest.

“I didn’t speak about it, my wife has now realised why I didn’t speak about it; it’s going to bury a few demons and it’s recognition for Jon; he was shot and killed on the same rooftop as me, a 35-year-old father-of-three. It’s more for Jon than anything else.

“For me, on that tour, I lost three members of my troop.”

Staff sergeant Wornham’s story is just one of the heroic tales in Heroes of Helmand: The British Army's Great Escape, produced by Testimony Films for Channel 4, due to be broadcast on August 16 at 9pm.