A Pembrokeshire diver who played a key role in salvaging the Russian nuclear submarine, Kursk, from the bottom of the Barents Sea has spoken of the emotional impact of the recovery operation.

As a former submariner, Peter Davies was acutely aware of the trauma the 118 crew members must have experienced when their 18,000 tonne vessel became stranded on the seabed.

It was very emotional, knowing all those men had lost their lives, he said. As an ex-submariner I tried to picture where the crew member who did my job would have been.

Another poignant moment was the laying of a granite memorial stone on the seabed at the end of the operation.

Peter was a member of the team on board the diving support vessel, Mayo, operated by Aberdeen-based DSND Sub Sea. The recovery operation was difficult because the submarine was 100 metres below the sea surface. It was a race against time to salvage the vessel before Octobers Arctic storms set in. For 20 days, Peters home was a chamber in the murky depths of the Barents Sea.

There had been a catastrophic explosion in the bow, our first job was to remove it, said Peter, who arrived home at 34 Grove Drive, Pembroke, last week. We then had to forge 26 holes in the submarine and install grippers.

The operation was a success and the Kursk is now being examined by Russian forensic experts at a dry dock in Murmansk.

Peters career as a submariner began in 1980 when, as a member of the Royal Naval Submarine Service, he served on board two nuclear submarines, HMS Valiant and HMS Turbulent. During the 1982 conflict he spent 116 days submerged off the Falkland Islands.

He left the Navy in 1986 to become a commercial diver and moved to Pembroke Dock when the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service offered him a job as a mooring and salvage diver. He left the RMAS ahead of MOD cutbacks and now works as a freelance diver.

He plans to spend time with his wife, Derryn, and children, Daniel and Katie, before taking on his next project.

Caption: Peter Davies is pictured with a message from the Russian Admiral in charge of the Kursk salvage operation.