PEWSEY veteran Mike Thompson is convinced that being forced to witness four nuclear tests in the Pacific when he was a young man has resulted in his being childless.

Mr Thompson, 75, from Aston Close, Pewsey, was doing his National Service in the RAF in 1958 when he was sent to Christmas Island in the South Pacific along with thousands of other conscripts.

He said: “We were made to sit in the sand with our backs to the blast wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. Our officers told us to jam our fingers in our eyes to protect us from the glare.

“When the bombs went off, we could all feel the heat on our backs, our shoulders and the backs of our heads, which were, of course, unprotected.

“Although I had my eyes shut I could see the bones of my fingers through my skin, just like an X-ray. That was the radiation.

“We had to remain sitting until the blast wave passed over us, then we were allowed to stand up and look at the mushroom cloud.”

Mr Thompson witnessed four blasts over the months he was on Christmas Island and each time the routine was the same.

He said: “They even had a drill in case the wind changed direction and blew the cloud back towards us. We had to rush for lorries parked nearby, which would drive us straight to the docks and then onto destroyers to take us out to sea.”

Although Mr Thompson experienced no serious illness immediately after the blast, the little fingers on both his hands have remained crooked ever since and he required surgery on one to straighten it.

A more sinister after-effect came to light after he and his wife were expecting their first child.

Mr Thompson recalled: “My wife went right to term, but the baby was very underweight – just four pounds. He only lived for 25 minutes.”

The couple’s gynaecologist told them that they could try again but a similar result might occur, or even threaten Mrs Thompson’s life.

Mr Thompson said: “I wouldn’t risk my wife’s life, so we never tried again.

“I am convinced this was the result of the radiation and I want compensation.”

Mr Thompson has joined the British Nuclear Trials Victims’ Association, which has been fighting a class action for five years.

Alan Rimmer, the association’s press officer, said: “Just last week we won the right to appeal a Supreme Court decision denying us the right to compensation.

“The appeal will be heard in November and, if we win, we can sue the Government.

“Victims of the tests are dying at the rate of one a month, so if it takes three years for this to be dealt with, there will be 72 fewer veterans to benefit.”