A Bristol surgeon is in the middle of a two-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, where British casualties are "as bad as you can imagine".

Surgeon Commander Richard Bateman, 37, from Long Ashton has been at Camp Bastion since the beginning of December and is seeing a steady flow of soldiers and Afghan civilians being flown in.

Injuries include multiple amputations, severe head injuries and lacerations.

The injuries are mostly the result of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), bombs, mortars and gunfire.

Speaking at the field hospital, Mr Bateman said: "We're almost exclusively seeing trauma cases.

"They are as bad as you can imagine.

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me. It takes a bit of getting used to.

"It's more the fact that it's fairly frequent. I wouldn't say relentless but it feels like it sometimes."

The Royal Navy consultant anaesthetist normally works at Bristol Royal Infirmary.

He has been in Afghanistan since December 3 and is on a two-month tour. As well as his job in the operating theatre he also flies out in the back of Chinook helicopters to pick up casualties as a member of the medical emergency response team (MERT).

"As soon as a situation report comes into the joint operations centre then decisions are made whether or not to activate us and we go when told."

The Chinooks sometimes fly into extremely dangerous situations where they may be firefights with the Taliban. Protective cover is provided by Apache attack helicopters.

The surgeon said the teams were picking up equal numbers of local nationals caught up in the fighting and British casualties.

He might also be tasked with treating injured members of the Taliban. "It's just part of my job. Retribution does not come into it," he said.

Mr Bateman is married with a 19-month-old daughter. This is the first time he has been deployed since becoming a father.

He said: "It's harder, especially at Christmas. But the bottom line is when you are working and you're busy, you don't think about it."