A ROYAL Marine has told how he owes his life to the state-of-the-art Jackal war vehicle which was designed in the Westcountry, after it absorbed the blast from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Sergeant Mark Haigh, 37, knows the explosion could have killed him – but he believes the design of the off-roader helped him escape with shrapnel wounds and a broken leg.

The open-topped 4x4 is far more robust than the traditionally-used Land Rover, which has been widely criticised because of its use in war zones because it is not designed to withstand bombs.

Crucially, the Jackal is far more manoeuvrable, meaning the routes it can take are less predictable to insurgents planting makeshift mines.

Yesterday, Sgt Haigh was among a number of marines to visit the designer Supacat, based at Dunkeswell in East Devon, to give feedback to be incorporated into future Jackal designs.

He said his life was saved by features such as the steel blast protection system, which is bolted on to the chassis, and seats which collapse to absorb the impact of an explosion.

The Plymouth-based member of the United Kingdom Land Forces Command Support Group said his memory of the blast in the Helmand Province in February was hazy, but said: "The seats collapsed and the protection system worked – it did what it was supposed to do."

Sgt Haigh was front-seat passenger in the vehicle, and the driver also escaped with lower leg injuries. The back seat passenger was completely unharmed.

Sgt Haigh said: "Had we been in one of the old Land Rovers, it could have been fatal." He said he was aware of injuries and even one death which had occurred in the Jackal. But he said: "No vehicle is invincible, but this is certainly a lot better."

The number of Jackals, built by Plymouth-based Babcock Marine, to be sent to Afghanistan will rise from around 200 to 320 this autumn, as part of a £700 million Ministry of Defence contract. They will not replace Land Rovers, but they provide a safer option for rough terrain transport.

Without expensive weaponry, armoury or equipment, the base price is around £200,000 per vehicle – but Marines yesterday said they were invaluable in war.

Sgt Adrian Foster, of 42 Commando, said its ability to carry more weight was vital. The 34-year-old, from Saltash, said: "We're facing an intelligent and determined enemy, and we have to outwit them. This vehicle helps us go places where they aren't expecting us to be."

Supacat is the brainchild of Nick Jones, who yesterday tackled the criticisms levelled at the vehicle. He said the Jackal needed to be open-topped, because marines must be able to aim and shoot. And he said it was "wrong" that it is inappropriate because the driver and front passenger are above the wheels, when in fact, they are between them. In an explosion, the vehicle is designed to collapse to the sides. "With luck, the people in the front get away with it, but I'm afraid sometimes the blasts are so big that no vehicle would stand a chance," he said.

Mr Jones was a vehicles engineer who designed Supacat's first prototype six-wheeled vehicle in a workshop behind his home in the Mid-Devon village of Hemyock in 1982, using around £30,000 of his own money. Initially, he pitched to the agricultural industry, but the design proved too expensive for farmers. However, the military heard of its manoeuvrability, and he began working with marines.

He realised the need for a faster vehicle which could carry more weight, and the Jackal was born.

Now, the Jackal 2 is emerging, with 110 about to be delivered to Afghanistan. It features updates such as collapsible seats in the back, a new chassis design and a rifle ring which allows marines to rotate through 360 degrees.

Mr Jones said he was "really chuffed" at the feedback, and admitted he "knew nothing" about military operations to begin with, but said the key to the successful partnership was his hands-on approach, heading out with commandos to see how the vehicle performed.