'If I stayed, I would die' - Tipton veteran relives moment he was set on fire by petrol bomb in Iraq before he takes on 300-mile Arctic Expedition

The devastating moment it happened 'felt like a lifetime' according to Karl, 38, who had to fight his way out of the tank through flames and plumes of smoke before being able to get help.

The dad-of-one  spent time in hospital recovering, re-learning how to walk and having skin grafts before being able to get back to a type of normality following the ordeal. 

But in what could have been more than enough reason to opt for a quiet and comfortable life, it was the last thing on Karl's mind who just 16 months later was training to run a marathon and then went on to win a silver medal in the 1500m at the Invictus Games. He was also awarded the Military Cross. 

Not forgetting the time he also attempted to climb Mount Everest - stopped only by a potential avalanche due to unusually warm conditions. 

Now married and living in Tipton - and having served as an infantryman with the Staffordshire regiment - he has raised close to £1million for a mixture of charities over the last 20 years, and now has his eyes set on a new challenge, which will kick off in March. 

The Arctic Expedition is a 300 mile unsupported journey through snow and ice in Lapland, Sweden, with help available which even at its earliest would take days to get to him if there was a problem. 

And he won't be alone - or lacking the skills to survive - as fellow military legends and TV personalities Jason “Foxy” Fox, Aldo Kane and Brian Wood MC, joining him. 

Starting with a training expedition tomorrow, Friday, January 10, it will involve navigation in whiteout conditions, jumping into ice cold water during the ice break test, take on medical training and equipment testing. 

The impressive effort has a goal to raise £100,000 for SAFFA, the armed forces charity, a charity that means a lot to Karl in his continued push to shine a spotlight on mental health in the military. 

Speaking today, Karl said: "When it happened it just overwhelmed me with panic and there were no sensible thoughts until 20 seconds into it. I realised I had to get out and get some faculties back, it felt like it went on for a lifetime. 

"When I was sitting there on fire inside the turret the flames made me feel trapped, and I knew to stay there was to die - it would be the end. All I needed to do was go up and out but the pressure and flames were just pressing on me and felt like an immense challenge."

Karl was inspired to join the forces after listening to old war tales from his grandmother, Shirley, who sadly passed away three years ago and served in the military during her working years. 

Karl said: "My grandmother served and she told me stories of her career. We were very close, I lived with her growing up and moved back there after the incident. 

"She had the military aura about her, you could sell she served just by how she carried herself. she told me stories of the places she went, people she met and friends she made and it all just really appealed to me. I wanted to see the world.

"When I first joined it was exactly as I expected, everything I trained for and had prepared for. I really took to it, some people join and realise it's not for them but with me, I just knew I was in the right place. I was an infantryman with the Staffordshire Regiment and had been for about two years before the incident happened."

Decades after the accident and hundreds of thousands of pounds raised for charity later, Karl said he chose this particular challenge because of how tough he knew it would be. 

He said: "It's obviously very difficult, 500k/m through the arctic wilderness is never going to be easy and the idea of having to survive and be self-sufficient appeals to me. We're going in as a team and we have to get through it together. 

"You've really got to be honest with each other when you're doing things like this and there's no room for hiding how you feel. If you're having a bad day your team need to know and vice versa. 

"We will have emergency help on hand, but even if we do call for it, it would be days before the help could actually get to us. 

"Of all the things that are scary about the challenge, it's the cold that I would say is the scary part, not the wildlife or terrain. If you get hyperthermia things can go downhill really quick so you've got to be sharp with every decision and you can't make mistakes."

Taking on the challenge with him are fellow military legends and TV personalities Jason “Foxy” Fox, Aldo Kane and Brian Wood MC.

Karl, said: "We all knew each other in passing and they've all done some incredible things while having unique talents in their own right, I think we'll make a brilliant team."

The challenge is set to kick off in early March, with training beginning tomorrow.