Hero soldier who was injured in IED blast in Afghanistan and retrained as a teacher faces jail after admitting relationship with pupil

A hero soldier who overcame devastating injuries from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan before retraining as a teacher has been warned he faces jail after admitting to a relationship with a young pupil. Former Light Dragoons sergeant Simon Taylor, 43 – who broke nearly every bone in his body in the blast and later had a leg amputated - had denied allegations he became involved with the teenager at Hethersett Academy in Norfolk. The father-of-three was due to face trial at Norwich Crown Court yesterday over eight allegations, including groping her under her school skirt, touching her breasts in his car and kissing her in woods. But he admitted five offences before the start of the hearing, including sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust. The offences occurred in a two-and-a-half year period between August 2019 and January 2022. Taylor, who provided pastoral support at the school, also admitted two counts of sexual assault involving intentional touching and two counts of sexual communication with a child. Judge Andrew Shaw bailed the defendant following a defence application for a psychological report after being told of his injuries and how he had seen a comrade killed in the incident. But he warned him: ‘Don’t think just because I have ordered reports and released you on bail that immediate imprisonment has been ruled out. ‘It has not - and it remains the most likely outcome.’ Taylor, formerly of Dereham but who gave an address in court of Marston Jabbett near Bedworth, in Warwickshire was also placed on the sex offenders register. Taylor was a sergeant with the Light Dragoons and served in Bosnia and Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan. The super-fit PT instructor was a reconnaissance troop corporal in 2009 when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device which killed the driver, Lance Corporal Richard Brandon. The blast threw Taylor out of the vehicle and left him in a coma and multiple injuries including the broken bones, a traumatic brain injury, a collapsed lung, spinal fractures and a shattered ankle. He had a cage fitted around his spine, his shoulder pinned and arm plated, while his right leg was amputated below the knee in 2011 as a result of the injuries. He spoke previously of how he had tried to keep the leg as he ‘just wanted to be able to make a life for my family and do things with them’. 'So I kept the leg initially and they tried to pin it but it never repaired properly and in 2011 I decided to have it amputated. It was not an easy decision,’ he added. He was promoted to sergeant while working in the welfare unit and took up cycling in 2012, shortly before being medically discharged from the Army, after Help for Heroes funded a mountain bike through its grants scheme. He credited the sport with helping him to face the post-traumatic stress disorder he developed after suffering feelings of guilt for his colleague who died in the blast. ‘My first time out after receiving it, I went further in that 15-minute ride than I’d been in the last two years. I became addicted,’ he said. ‘It’s my way of helping with the psychological side of things, getting out and about in nature. It gives me the space to get my head together. ‘I only have one leg for power but when it comes to the downhill stints I’m not limited; I have a sense of freedom.’ He has used the sport to take part in high-profile fundraising events for veterans' charities, including long-distance mountain bike rides across northern England and the longest downhill cycle race in the world in the Alps. Hethersett School is a co-educational academy school with around 1,200 pupils run by Inspiration Trust, which is responsible for 21 primary and secondary schools or sixth forms. The trust said Taylor had not been employed there since July 2021. It added in a statement: 'The Trust places the highest priority on safeguarding and the protection of children and young people. All colleagues undergo rigorous pre-employment checks, including enhanced DBS screening, and are subject to ongoing safeguarding training and supervision throughout their employment. 'Where concerns arise, we work closely with statutory agencies to ensure swift and effective action is taken.' Taylor will be sentenced on January 12.