Michael Asiamah claimed his commanders exposed him to chilly conditions

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Michael Asiamah told the High Court he suffered a "cold-related" condition during winter military exercises because the Army failed to equip him with proper cold weather kit such as mittens, gloves, socks and boots. The Ghanaian-born extrooper also claimed his commanders exposed him to chilly conditions despite knowing Africans feel cold more acutely than Britons. Mr Asiamah, 36, is claiming damages for alleged negligence after he suffered "nonfreezing cold injury" in 2016. Defence chiefs are planning to contest his claim.

Mr Asiamah's lawyers say the manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain and Naseby Battlefield in Leicestershire left him with numbness and pain in his hands and feet. Nearly three years on, he says he is still suffering the effects and has had to all but abandon his hope of becoming a PE instructor. Mr Asiamah, who runs an evangelical church near his home in Tidworth, Wilts, says he risks aggravating his symptoms if he goes out in temperatures below 59F. The six-footer, who served with the Adjutant General's Corps, refused to comment yesterday.

Michael Asiamah is suing MoD

According to court papers, Mr Asiamiah said he was exposed to 18 hours of freezing and windy conditions during Exercise Scorpion in March 2016 after being posted to Salisbury Plain with the Royal Tank Regiment. He said the Ministry of Defence knew that people of black Caribbean and African origin are more susceptible to cold injuries. His superiors failed to warn him to take cold weather boots or socks - and when he reported his symptoms the patrol commander told him to carry on, he said. Mr Asiamah claimed he remained outside from early morning to midnight and his hands and feet became very painful as they warmed up.

The Naseby exposure was a week earlier, Mr Asiamah said, during a battlefield tour with Egypt Squadron. He said he spent around five hours in the cold in civilian clothing, listening to lectures about military tactics. Mr Asiamah's writ claims research by the Army Medical Corps in 2009 showed that black British Army soldiers were 30 times more likely than their white counterparts to develop cold injury. MoD guidance on preventing non-freezing cold injury, warns casualties should be evacuated urgently and not allowed to become colder. But Mr Asiamah accuses the department of ignoring its own advice, deploying him on a small arms, mortar cadre and infantry exercise, despite knowing of his symptoms.

Manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain left him with numbness and pain in his hands and feet