Britain's first specialist wound research centre has officially opened at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

The Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research has set a goal of achieving scar-free healing within a generation.

It will treat injured military personnel as well as civilians who have suffered injuries in incidents such as traffic accidents and terrorist attacks.

Dave Henson was serving with the Royal Engineers when he lost both legs after stepping on a hidden IED in Helmand in February 2010.

Now a medal-winning Paralympian, he is also a founder member of the Casevac Club, a group of the most severely wounded servicemen and women from Iraq and Afghanistan, who are making themselves available for research at the centre.

"The fact that we have survived means that we've got within our bodies, and within our injuries, a wealth of knowledge that's there to be exploited.