He is a 20-year-old hero, who helped bring peace and order to Sierra Leone, but Paratrooper Wayne Dolecki, is just happy to be home.

Wayne went over to the troubled country three weeks ago and has just returned home where he received a hero's welcome from his dad, Ken, and mum, Mary.

"They were very glad to see me. My mum was in tears when I spoke to her on the phone," he said.

His father, who owns the Mashed bar in Ivegate, said: "It was actually my 42nd birthday and Wayne rang to say 'Happy Birthday.' It was the first I'd heard from him in ages.

"Of course we followed the national news about the mission but we didn't really know if he was dead or alive.

"When we heard about the paratrooper who had been killed, we were frantic.

"You hope it's not your son but you feel sorry for other people if it's theirs."

Wayne, of Clayton, did jungle training in Jamaica in May and after a short return to Dover heard that the Parachute Regiment was set to be posted out as part of the mission to save the British hostages at very short notice.

"Basically, they told us on the Thursday night that we were going out there and had to pack and on the Friday we were flown out," said Wayne, a former Thornton Grammar School pupil.

It was his first major posting since he joined the First Battalion last May, prompted by his older brother John, who had joined the Marines.

"I didn't want to be left behind at home but I wanted to do something different to John," he said. Despite the circumstances Wayne did not feel immediate panic. "A lot of people thought it would be a false alarm and we wouldn't actually have to do anything there. But that wasn't the case," he said.

Instead he and others in the Parachute Regiment, aged between 17 and 26, had to undergo a gruelling task to save the hostages.

"My feelings did change a lot. There was excitement that we were involved in this mission and there was also nervousness. We didn't really know what to expect."

The reality was being woken at 4am and airlifted to a secret camp in West Africa.

"We flew to a drop-off point and I was expecting dry land where we would run for cover. But instead we found a swamp."

The soldiers had to push through the chest-deep swamp with their rifles up above their heads.

"It was like something out of a film. It was definitely the scariest time because we could hear the Royal Air Force firing up above us and we felt like sitting ducks."

Three platoons worked together to push forward and reach the hostages. Each of the platoons worked in rotation, firing and moving forward to reach their objective - which was to save the hostages and destroy all the enemies' weaponry.

Wayne was second-in-command of his section and found himself in charge when his Corporal was injured by a land mine.

"The actual attack took about two and a half hours but it felt like just 30 seconds."

They cleared the way for the SAS to rush in and rescue the hostages and destroy most of the ammunition held by the rebels.

"I don't feel particularly affected as such, I see it as a job I had to do and I'm glad I did," said Wayne who is now looking forward to a few days break-and celebrating his 21st birthday- before heading back to Dover.

His father, from Shipley, said: "We're just relieved to have him home. And of course, we are very, very proud."