AN AWOL soldier from York who is facing prison for refusing to return to Afghanistan joined thousands of demonstrators to condemn the war.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, of New Earswick, said the war was an illegal occupation and called for the withdrawal of British troops from the country.

He was cheered on by more than 5,000 Stop The War Coalition protesters in Hyde Park in London on Saturday, as he defied military orders and became one of the first serving soldiers to attend an anti-war demonstration, since Afghanistan was invaded in 2001.

L/Cpl Glenton, 27, who served with the Royal Logistics Corps, is facing a court martial for refusing to return to fight in the war-ravaged country in 2007 and faces the prospect of two years in prison if he is convicted.

He said he had witnessed sights during his time in Afghanistan that forced him to question the morality of his role, citing the deaths of 14 servicemen killed in 2006, when an RAF Nimrod spy plane exploded after a mid-air fuel leak, as a major reason for his change of heart.

The married former Helmsley Primary School pupil told the crowd: “I’m here today to make a stand beside you because I believe great wrongs have been perpetrated in Afghanistan.

“I cannot, in good conscience, be part of them. I’m bound by law and moral duty to try and stop them.

“I’m a soldier and I belong to the profession of arms. I expected to go to war, but I also expected that the need to defend this country’s interests would be legal and justifiable. I don’t think this is too much to ask.

“It’s now apparent that the conflict is neither of these and that’s why I must make this stand.”

Speaking in the shadow of Nelson’s Column, he said: “The occupation in Afghanistan is at best dubious in terms of legality and morality.

“I can’t be involved in it on that basis and, not only that, I am also bound to try and stop it, try and change things.”

He said military personnel had told him not to appear at today’s rally and said: “People keep telling me I’m brave but I don’t feel brave at all – I feel fairly terrified. It’s not going to stop me; I’m going to keep going.”

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “The situation involving Lance Corporal Joe Glenton is subject to legal proceedings and so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”