(h/t NonnyMouse)

ITV :

The first images of a daring rescue mission in which four Royal Marines strapped themselves to the wings of helicopter gunships in a bid to rescue a colleague have been published.

The four commandos flew into a fierce gunfight in southern Afghanistan on Monday clinging to the stabiliser wings of two Apache helicopters in a bid to recover the body of 30-year-old Lance Corporal Matthew Ford.

L/Cpl Ford, of 45 Commando Royal Marines, had been killed instantly by Taliban fire as he participated in a 200-soldier assault on a fort in Helmand province.

When the marines fell back to regroup they realised the section commander was missing and hatched the dramatic rescue bid.

Watch the footage here.