Ant and Dec, the television presenters, were forced to take cover from a rocket attack while visiting Afghanistan to present a bravery award to troops.

The duo, whose full names are Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, had gone to Camp Bastion in Helmand province to present a Pride of Britain Award to the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), who rescue injured colleagues from the front line.

As they returned to Kandahar to catch a military flight back to Britain, they were forced to dive to the ground when a group of Taleban fighters fired a shell from their position in the mountains around the airport. Pictures of the incident show the television pair among a group of soldiers, flat on their stomachs to avoid any flying shrapnel.

"It was pretty hairy - not something I'd like to experience again," said Ant, 32.

"All the guys around us were pulling on body armour. We couldn't believe how close we were to being hit. It shows what our troops go through every day."

Dec, 33, said: "One minute everything was calm and the next the sirens were wailing."

Nobody was hurt in the incident, and the rocket exploded harmlessly.

Earlier, at Camp Bastion, the pair had glimpsed a grimmer side to life under fire in Afghanistan when they watched a unit of doctors, nurses and paramedics boarding a helicopter to fly to the aid of 12 British soldiers who had been reported wounded in a Taleban ambush.

The rescue helicopter returned half an hour later with three critically and five seriously injured troops. A soldier from the Afghan National Army had died in the incident, according to the Daily Mirror.

Dec said: "It's been an absolute privilege. We came because we were asked to give an award and we wanted to do it in person. After today we know there's no award that's big enough for what they go through. But we hope that the Pride of Britain award gives them at least some recognition."

Pride of Britain - in association with the Daily Mirror, the Co-operative, ITV1, GMTV and Prince's Trust - celebrates unsung heroes. The ceremony takes place tomorrow night in London and will be shown on ITV1 on October 1 at 8pm.

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