A FORMER Army driver who witnessed the horrific death of his friend while serving in Northern Ireland has urged people to remember fallen war heroes.

Wheelchair user Robert Newton, 58, was serving as a driver with the Royal Corps of Transport in Belfast in 1972 when a bullet came through the window of the armoured truck he was driving and struck his comrade.

Last night, as the people of Oxfordshire prepared to dig deep to support the Poppy Appeal, Mr Newton explained how the incident had inspired him to sell poppies for more than 15 years.

He is also the vice-chairman of the Wantage and District branch of the Royal British Legion.

He said: “The way I look at it is some people who have fought need help and if the Government aren’t going to look after them, we’ve got to.

“If people buy a poppy it shows they support us. It’s a sign that they recognise people have given their lives to give people freedom.

“I lost five mates in action in Belfast in 1972, so I know what it feels like to lose someone.

“It’s just something you have to get through.

“There’s nothing you can do about it, you have to learn to live with it.

“I was driving and all of a sudden we heard a shot and the bullet came through the back of the armoured car and went through the window and hit my mate on the back of the head.

“The left side of his head disappeared completely. It’s not something you want to watch every day.

“It’s your friend and then suddenly they’re gone. It was a shock, but you just learn to live with it and try to forget about it and get on with it. You have to carry on.

“The other four mates I lost in the streets when they were on patrol. They were either shot or blown up. It’s like what’s going on in Afghan-istan – they’re out there getting shot and their mates have got to carry on.

“If you let your guard down, you’re dead.”

Mr Newton, of Princess Gardens, Grove, broke his back in a car accident on the A417 near Lockinge when he was on leave from the Army in 1975. He is paralysed from the hips down.

Despite his disability he has personally raised almost £40,000 for the appeal over the years and dedicates about 25 hours a week to helping run the Legion branch.

He said: “People in Wantage know me now and they always come and look for me.”

Mr Newton will be selling poppies outside Waitrose, in Wallingford Street, Wantage, between 8am and 6pm every day during Remembrance Week, apart from Sunday.