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SAS Who Dares Wins Star Recalls Moment He ‘Nearly Had Face Cut Off’ In Bomb Attack

SAS Who Dares Wins Star Recalls Moment He ‘Nearly Had Face Cut Off’ In Bomb Attack

The SAS Who Dares Wins star had a very close shave in Somalia

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

SAS: Who Dares Wins Mark 'Billy' Billingham has opened up about how he almost had his 'face cut off' in a blast in Somalia.

Fifty-five-year-old Billingham, who spent 17 years in the SAS, has been involved in some pretty scary situations over the years.

After spending time in the special forces, Billingham was teaching at a security company's training academy in Mogadishu when he had a brush with death after a bomb blew out a bulletproof window sending glass flying across the room.

Channel 4

Sharing the horrifying story on The Andy Rowe Show podcast, Billingham said: "The glass that was supposed to be bulletproof glass, which was about an inch thick, comes straight across the room, missed my face and stuck in the wall on the opposite side.

"Had I been an inch forward it would've cut the top of my face off."

Talk about a close call.

The explosion was so severe the roof of the building fell in, leaving the place in 'chaos'.

Billingham went on: "All the students are all lying across the floor and there's gunfire going on everywhere - chaos going on everywhere.

"I'm thinking all the students on the floor are either dead of badly injured. They weren't. It was the force of the blast just threw them all to the ground."

Billingham said around 1,800 people were killed in the attack, which saw terrorists with a 'lorry full of explosives' drive near to the training complex.

Billingham said: "We didn't lose anybody in the camp, [but] then they had dismounted terrorists on the ground. Luckily the police and military overrun it and stopped it all."

Channel 4

Billingham recently hit out at people who ask him how many people he's killed.

Speaking to comedian John Bishop on his Three Little Words podcast, Billingham said: "Everybody goes 'Army - killing machines'.

"No they're not. The Army's about making the world a better place. Yeah, we have to get involved in combat. Some troops do, some troops don't.

"We don't go out learning to kill. You learn how to defend. You learn how to overcome a situation.

"If that's the worst scenario - someone's trying to kill you, you've got to deal with it.

"When people go, 'oh yeah, they're just killing machines' - they're not, we're absolutely not.

"If you want to ask me anything about what I've done, I have saved so many lives directly or indirectly.

"Never ask me the question 'How many people have you killed?' I hate that s**t. And most people who are honest will because it's not about that at all, it's about saving lives and changing and doing things."

Featured Image Credit: Channel 4

Topics: Interesting