MINE-HIT TV PRODUCER HOLDS WEAPON THAT TOOK HIS LEG 
By Ashley Broadley, PA News 

A television producer who lost his right leg when he stepped on a landmine 
today held the deadly weapon for the first time since the tragic incident in 
northern Iraq. 
"When I first saw it I found it very upsetting," said 31-year-old Stuart 
Hughes, as he cautiously touched the small booby trap. 
"To think that something so small and innocuous maimed me for life and killed 
a friend and colleague is an upsetting thing." 
Cardiff-born Mr Hughes today announced that he was to become a patron of the 
Manchester-based mine clearance charity Mines Advisory Group (MAG). 
The BBC news producer was covering the war in Iraq with correspondent Jim Muir 
and Iranian cameraman Kaveh Golestan when, on April 2, they were taken to a 
small northern Iraqi town called Kifri to look at an abandoned enemy trench. 
Mr Hughes, who now lives in London with his girlfriend Aileen, stepped on the 
mine as he got out of a jeep. 
Being close to enemy lines, the explosion led Mr Hughes' colleagues to believe 
they were under attack and they dived for cover. Mr Golestan was killed when he 
detonated an anti-tank mine. 
Mr Muir was not injured and drove Mr Hughes to a local hospital. Eventually Mr 
Hughes returned to the UK where surgeons told him ty could not save his leg and 
it was amputated. 
"I do not feel angry towards the people who laid the mines," said Mr 
Hughes. 
"I'm aware that they are just following orders and it is difficult to feel 
any bitterness towards them. 
"But I do feel angry at those still involved in the trading of mines. As far 
as I am concerned they certainly do not follow the rules of war." 
Mr Hughes described the incident as "my accident" and said he was shocked to 
discover the true extent of the landmine problem in northern Iraq, in which 
dozens of people, mainly children, have been killed. 
He said: "MAG was the only mine clearance organisation working in the region. 
As a landmine survivor myself I am proud to be able to support MAG's work in 
trying to rid northern Iraq of the scourge of these horrific weapons." 
Known for its "first-in last-out" approach to war-torn and mine-infested 
regions of the world, MAG endeavours to clear the way so that agencies such as 
ICRC (Red Cross), Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres can safely deliver 
humanitarian aid and health care to the communities afflicted by war. 
Working out of its head office in Manchester, MAG employs almost 2,000 
 people 
worldwide with specialist teams in Lebanon, Angola, Cambodia, Laos, Afghanistan, 
Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Iraq. 
MAG chairman Lou McGrath said: "We are overwhelmed by Stuart's support. 
"It shows huge strength of character to be able to talk about his experiences 
while he is still coming to terms with them. 
"We felt compelled to make him a patron and we were thrilled when he accepted 
and wanted to join our cause. MAG needs high profile people like Stuart to help 
champion our work and help us raise desperately needed funds." 
MAG has reached the final nomination stages of the prestigious Hilton 
Humanitarian Prize, the world's largest humanitarian award and described by MAG 
as "an achievement in itself akin to being shortlisted for a Nobel Prize". 
MAG has been clearing mines since the last Gulf War in 1992, destroying close 
to 100,000 mines and almost 346,000 unexploded bombs. Its work plays a crucial 
role in rebuilding social and physical infrastructure after the guns have fallen 
silent. 
Speaking from MAG's head office in Manchester, Mr Hughes confessed he did not 
know much about the landmine issue before the incident. 
Staring at the mine, he said: "They just look like a tin of sweets. But I'm 
looking at the thing that took my foot away from me." He said the BBC had been 
extremely supportive and hoped to be back at work when he is walking again 
following the fitting of a prosthetic leg. 
More information about MAG can be found on its website, www.mag.org.uk.