A FORMER Royal Marine who nearly died in a Taliban bomb blast has launched an assault on the Government's compensation scheme, branding it "poor".

Speaking for the first time since being blown up in Afghanistan in 2007, Harris Tatakis said he believes charities are forced to "pick up the slack" because the payouts are not enough.

Four-and-a-half years after being seriously injured when his Land Rover drove over an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), the 34-year-old said he was still coming to terms with his injuries.

The blast shattered the then 29-year-old's left leg, shin and ankle, broke his right foot, ruptured both his ear drums and caused brain damage.

He received £96,000 in compensation for injuries to his leg, and he is still waiting to hear about further pay outs for his hearing loss and head injuries.

He believes regardless of what his final total is, his former comrades should receive more, to save them needing the help of charities.

However a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said the compensation scheme is "fundamentally sound".

Harris, a former Corporal who lives in St Mellion, said: "The support for us is poor [from the Ministry of Defence] and charities like The Royal Marines Association and the Not Forgotten Association pick up the slack.

"The Government is being narrow-minded and I think we deserve more.

"We are fighting for our country; surely we deserve more? The guys need better support.

"It's not just the injuries you can see. It's how a person reacts to their injuries in terms of their mental state.

"The MoD does not take this into consideration.

"It is getting better but it's still such a long-drawn-out process."

Harris was one of a number of city marines to suffer horrific injuries on April 3, 2007, during Herrick 5.

As fate would have it, 42 Commando's Lima Company – his company – had been asked to extend its six-month tour by up to 10 days to carry out one last mission – to clear the Sangin Valley of enemy fighters.

The incident which changed Harris' life happened on the day he was originally due to return home to the UK with his men.

Harris, then a vehicle commander, was one of three marines travelling in a WMIK Land Rover in a convoy of vehicles.

Unfortunately an American plan to drop leaflets on the valley to urge Taliban commanders to leave the area backfired with the fighters instead laying dozens of IEDs in the desert tracks.

Harris' vehicle drove over an IED which is believed to have contained two anti-tank mines.

The blast saw the vehicle thrown 20ft in the area. Harris has been told his battered body was thrown about 35 metres away.

Nearby was the other marine thrown from the vehicle who escaped with cuts and bruises.

The driver suffered damage to his jaw.

"I heard the bang and everything went black," added Harris who later became one of the founding members of Plymouth's Hasler Company.

"I thought I was dead. I honestly thought I was dead. I drifted in and out of consciousness and woke up about 10 minutes later to the smell of burning flesh.

"At first I thought I had lost my leg but I looked down and it was still there."

As well as his injuries, Harris also suffered temporal paralysis for two days.

Within days he was back in the UK at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham receiving treatment.

Six weeks later he was transferred to Headley Court for rehabilitation which lasted for two years.

To this day he says he feels "guilty" for his fellow marines being injured in the blast when he was in command of the vehicle.

An MoD spokesperson said: "The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) provides a tax-free lump sum where illness, injury or death is caused by service.

"For those most seriously injured the AFCS also provides a monthly, tax-free, index-linked income as an enhancement to the individual's pension.

"This payment can be worth many hundreds of thousands of pounds over a lifetime.

"A recent review by Admiral, The Lord Boyce, concluded that the scheme remained fundamentally sound and the top level lump sum of £570,000, that had been previously doubled, remained appropriate.

"Total awards under the scheme in terms of both lump sum and income stream can be worth up to £1.5million."