WITH the British Army’s death toll now standing at 324, you would forgive this 19-year-old, just back from a gruelling three months in Afghanistan, for not wanting to go back.

Just last week, two soldiers were shot dead while trying to rescue a wounded colleague. But Aaron Hobbs is stoical about the job he has to do and is determined to finish it, despite the danger and hostility he and his fellow troops face on a daily basis.

Aaron, who flew out to Afghanistan in April, is nearly at the end of a two-week break back home.

He’s been dividing his time between his dad’s home, in Wickford, and his mum’s, in Southend, and trying to cram in as much time with friends and family before heading back out to the war zone this Sunday.

The former pupil of St Thomas More High School, Westcliff, who is with the Queen’s Royal Lancers, said his time in Afghanistan so far has been tough, but enjoyable overall.

He said: “My first three months didn’t go so badly, I had loads of different types of experience.

“It’s nothing like I imagined. It’s such a shock going from living in Southend to being out there.

“The Afghans have a completely different way of life. They’ve hardly got any water, the children don’t even have shoes and they only eat what they can grow.”

A typical day for Aaron, who is living in patrol base with 14 British soldiers and 12 members of the Afghan Police, starts at around 4am. They get kitted out and go on patrol, walking through villages, compounds, and fields, looking for insurgents and roadside bombs.

Despite having two types of armoured vehicle at their disposal, Jackals and Scimitars, Aaron explained the soldiers patrol on foot, because their main mission is to win over the population.

He said: “We come across locals, some of them know us and speak to us, and we try to help them.

“They might tell the translator they want to build a new school and we try to get them what they need. We’re trying to win the hearts and minds of the people.”

After three or four hours patrolling in temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius, Aaron and his comrades return to the patrol base and rest. Aaron said their staple food is Pot Noodles and also snacks sent over in their ration packs and aid packs.

The afternoon is spent sleeping or reading in their ponchos, before dinner at 6pm, after which there might be another patrol.

The troops have a television and radio and were able to catch some of the England football games.

The teenager said: “We play cards a lot and try to keep sane as much as possible. It can get really boring.

“It gets dark at about half past seven and the heat makes you tired, so we go to bed pretty early.”

But life isn’t always as routine for the Queen’s Royal Lancers. They’ve had some close encounters with the Taleban, but, luckily, no one has been injured.

Aaron described coming under enemy fire. He said: “When it happens, your training just automatically kicks in and you return fire and listen to orders from your sergeant.

“You know someone is trying to kill you and that’s a weird feeling, but you just know you’ve got to get out of that place.

“There’s loads of adrenalin and everything goes really fast.”

He added: “Afterwards you feel so lucky that no one was hurt, it’s elating. You just want to come home safe.”

He said experiencing those brushes with death have made him full of admiration for the Royal Marines and the infantry, who are stationed in the most dangerous provinces and come under fire on a daily basis.

After his two-week break, Aaron knows he has to go back to Afghanistan and face it all again.

He will be posted there until November, after which the Army will give him a few months off before sending him to Canada for training.

Depending on how many troops the Government still has in the country, Aaron is due to return to the conflict in 2012.

Amid all the talk of withdrawing British troops by 2015, Aaron said all that matters to him is making sure they leave the country in good shape.

He said: “We’ve got to finish the job and make sure the Afghan army is trained up and then get them to start running the country and doing the patrols.”

The soldier said he tries not to think about the recent spate of attacks on soldiers by Taleban sympathisers within the Afghan army.

He said: “You just try and get on with it. If it’s going to happen it’s going to happen.

“But those attacks are a real minority. Most of the Afghan soldiers want to make their country better.

“The only way we can get out of there is by handing over to the Afghan army, so we have to trust them and work with them.”

Asked whether three months in Afghanistan had changed him, the 19-year-old, who will turn 20 in August, and celebrate at his patrol base, said: “I feel more mature and I appreciate more things.

“The thing I missed most, apart from friends and family, was cold water – it’s something people take for granted. I am still enjoying it so far.”

Saying goodbye to Aaron for the second time will be dad Terry Hobbs, 51, who works as a traffic police officer at Rayleigh, mum Caroline Hobbs, 54, stepmum Jenny, 53, and Aaron’s two sisters Melanie, 22, and Victoria, 25.