Ginny and Grahame Duffield’s family Christmas will have one very important person missing this year, as their son Charlie spends the season working as an Army doctor in Afghanistan.

Captain Charlie Duffield, 27, inset, is serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps, assigned to the Scots Guards.

Instead of sharing a traditional Christmas with his family and beloved dog Luna, in Shillingford, he will be on standby at Camp Bastion for casualties.

Mrs Duffield, 57, said: “There’s going to be a very big hole in our Christmas this year and we will all be terribly worried about him. But Charlie is due home for 10 days on January 9, so we will be keeping the tree up and having another Christmas then, especially for him.

“I have sent Charlie an alpaca wool scarf I knitted for him, as it’s -2C at night in Afghanistan at the moment.

“Plus we’ve sent him a Santa hat and lot of goodies, including a Christmas cake and a Christmas pud and brandy butter, which he says he is going to share with his mates out there.”