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A former Royal Marine has been awarded more than £500,000 damages for hearing loss suffered during his service.

Alistair Inglis, 39, from Plymouth, said his hearing had been affected by weapon and vehicle noise.

His lawyers said the case could pave the way for thousands of others from armed forces personnel.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) disputed the amount of damages Mr Inglis was entitled to, saying he left voluntarily while still "fit for all duties".

Mr Inglis enlisted in 1997 for 22 years but left in 2012 "because of his hearing loss", a High Court judge ruled.

The court heard that during Mr Inglis's years with the marines he was deployed to Northern Ireland and Afghanistan, where he was a "section commander in Helmand province" and "repeatedly came under fire".

He claimed his hearing was "equivalent to that of a man in his early 70s".

Mr Inglis left the marines to work in maritime security because of his concerns about his "deteriorating levels of hearing".

Judge Peter Marquand ruled the MoD must pay Mr Inglis £545,766.60, including more than £200,000 to cover future loss of earnings and just over £280,000 for future loss of pension.

Mr Inglis's lawyers said after the ruling they had more than 2,200 other cases and were being contacted daily by service personnel with hearing problems.

Sam Healey, for the MoD, said Mr Inglis had left "to pursue a career in maritime security, at the time a lucrative line of work for Royal Marines looking for a change of career".

He said Mr Inglis earned "considerably more" in his maritime security role than as a marine.