A BRITISH soldier who formed part of cave diving team that helped rescue 12 trapped boys in Thailand said they did everything to make sure nothing was left to chance.

Lance Corporal Connor Roe has been shortlisted for the individual Hero Overseas category in The Sun Newspapers' annual military awards, the Millies.

The 26-year-old, from Axbridge, who is in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, attached to 21 Signal Regiment, has been caving for more than eight years, and cave diving since 2012.

He went to Thailand after a daring operation was launched to reach the young footballers and their team coach after they became stranded more than two miles deep inside the Tham Luang cave network on June 23.

They spent 18 days marooned in the dark - their exit cut off by a flash flood - before specialist dive teams guided them out one by one.

Speaking to the Press Association, LCpl Roe said he had to "hit the ground running" when he arrived in Thailand, and that he had only had a "handful of hours" to pack his equipment.

Describing the cave passages he said there was zero visibility, and likened it to trying to dive in tea or coffee.

"You were going through and seeing all the debris from previous rescue attempts, and just a really surreal experience," he said.

"And when the first boys arrived at the section I was at - it was just like 'yeah, this is serious we just need to make sure we are doing everything we can to make sure they come out alive'."

Asked if he was scared at any point, he said it was more a case of remaining focused.

"You wanted to make sure that every decision you made was in their best interest. Their lives are physically in your hands," he said.

"Every decision you make affects their life, and if I got it wrong I would then have to go forward and live with that for the rest of my life, and that would be something that is very difficult to live with.

"So you were just very focused in making sure everything was happening and there was nothing that was left to chance."

British diving experts and support workers were hailed as integral to the rescue bid, which also involved specialists from the US, Belgium, Australia and Scandinavia.

The operation claimed the life of Thai navy diver Saman Kunan, who died while replenishing oxygen canisters.

The rescue was also particularly treacherous because the boys, aged 11 to 16, had to swim through tight spaces despite having no diving experience.

LCpl Roe said once he realised all of the boys were out of the cave system safely he initially felt "really, really happy and excited".

"It wasn't until I knew that every single rescuer was out of the cave then I was like 'right we can all relax now'," he added.

"It was really important for me to see them all come out, and I actually waited at the cave entrance with a couple of other divers from the UK to see the last of them come out.

"That was important to know that it was now done, and I could now go home and relax."

He described the attention and publicity that he and the team have received in the months following the rescue as "quite strange and a new experience".

The Sun's Millies awards night will be held on Thursday and celebrates the bravest and best figures from the Royal Navy, Army and the Royal Air Force.