A war veteran from Harrow who was injured in a grenade attack in Afghanistan was honoured during a royal visit to an ex-service personnel charity.

Dwayne Deare was among a group of ex-service men and women who met The Duchess of Cornwall at a celebration to mark The Poppy Factory’s milestone of enabling 500 disabled veterans back into employment.

Mr Deare sustained a serious brain injury after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade in Afghanistan.

But with help from The Poppy Factory he is now training to be a driver with National Express coaches after successfully completing work experience with the company.

Mr Deare was serving as a rifleman in the army infantry when he suffered the traumatic injury in December 2009.

His platoon was attacked as they walked back to camp in Helmand province.

Mr Deare was launched into the air and thrown into a nearby canal. He was submerged in the water for about eight minutes before his section located him.

He woke up in a Birmingham hospital four days later - a week before his birthday - with no recollection of the incident.

The 36-year-old father of one said: "I remember opening my eyes and my nan and family were there. It was very confusing, I couldn't understand why I'd ended up there.

"I started feeling my limbs. Something had clearly gone wrong, I thought I've got shot or it's an explosion - but I couldn't remember what had happened."

Mr Deare, who lives in Harrow Weald, had also suffered shrapnel burns, broken his left arm in two places and had problems with his memory.

For about two years he was treated in different hospitals to help with his recovery and rehabilitation.

He said: "My mum asks me every time we speak if I can remember it - and still to this day I can't.

"I know I was catapulted straight into the canal and I was submerged. When I speak to the other guys I was out there with, they say it was about eight minutes - no one knew where I ended up.

"It's very strange to hear them tell me - when they tell it the story sounds more interesting than mine.

"Someone saw bits of my kit floating in the canal, another saw a silhouette and thought it was my body."

After he was medically discharged, Mr Deare faced the challenging decision of what to do next.

Following support from The Poppy Factory, Mr Deare is now waiting for approval from the DVLA for the appropriate licence so he can begin his new career.

His success prompted an invitation by the charity to attend its celebration event and meet its patron, the Duchess of Cornwall.

Mr Deare added: "It was amazing to be there. It was a really good feeling to be in the presence of the Duchess of Cornwall and for her to come and spend that time with us. It was a really good event."

At the reception, Her Royal Highness met key Poppy Factory people, including president Sara Jones, chairman Mark Perowne and chief executive Melanie Waters.

Ms Waters said: “The purpose of this event was to show our thanks to all the employers, mentors, staff, and indeed our disabled veterans, for contributing towards the success of our Getting You Back to Work programme.

"The Poppy Factory uses its unique expertise to help disabled veterans into work with many large and small commercial organisations throughout the UK.

"We believe that a health condition should not prevent an employer from considering one of our veterans as worthy for a meaningful career.

"The attendance of our patron, the Duchess of Cornwall, helps us to highlight our important work to provide bespoke support to our disabled veterans once they’ve left the forces.”