A SOLDIER from Todmorden who has a hobby with a difference, competing in the daredevil winter sport of skeleton, is hoping to catch the eye of Team GB.

Lance Bombardier Sam Banda throws himself headfirst down an ice track on a small sled at speeds of up to 75mph.

The 21-year-old, of 26 Regiment Royal Artillery, has just taken part in an army championship in Winterberg, Germany.

He said: “I think it takes a certain sort of person to do skeleton, you have to be a little bit insane.

“I’m an adrenaline junkie. I like getting the heart pumping and there’s not many sports where you can go headfirst, scraping your face off the ice at 70mph.”

He first discovered skeleton after spotting a flyer for winter sports in Gütersloh, Germany where he is based.

He said that skeleton appealed to his daredevil side more than the better-known sports of bobsleigh and luge.

Lance Bombardier Banda said: “I Googled each one and skeleton looked the stupidest, so I decided to do that.

It’s definitely a sport that takes you out of your comfort zone.”

He competed in Exercise Racing Ice 2 - the annual Army Novice, Junior and Senior Ice Sport Championship and is now trying to get funding so he can buy his own kit and do pre-season training.

He wants to get his run time below 59 seconds to catch the eye of the Team GB coach.

The British Army do sport and adventure training to push soldiers out of their comfort zones, so they can take this experience back into their day-to-day work and operations.

He said: “The only way to get noticed is to win, to open people’s eyes and to drop people’s jaws.

"It’s a shock and awe kind of thing.

"One of the big things in skeleton is your reactions under pressure and in the army your reactions under pressure can save your life.

“If you come out of a corner and think 'I’m going to crash here' then you have a split-second to do something about it.

"It can help mentally prepare you for military life."