SPECIAL FORCES PILOT by Richard Hutchings, £12.99
ISBN 978-1-473823174

DICK Hutchings won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic actions during the Falklands War - but for a quarter of a century he has remained silent about his involvement in the conflict.

Now in this riveting book he reveals for the first time the story of his work as a special forces pilot and in particular what went wrong both in the air and on the ground during Operation MIKADO - the ill-fated bid to land SAS soldiers in Argentina so they could carry out covert operations.

Mr Hutchings, who now lives at Holmrook in west Cumbria, served throughout the Falklands War with 846 Naval Air Squadron flying Sea King helicopters.

He has waited over twenty-five years to tell his story.

The sensitive nature of his experiences provide the reader with some fascinating insights into the conduct of operations.