SOLDIER Mark Cox has served in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

But it is not the gruelling challenges of 16 years in the military that have given the Bolton soldier his toughest challenge.

The Royal Pioneer, of Smithills, has recently finished his first novel which will reach bookshelves across the UK this summer.

Provost Corporal Cox, aged 36, set himself the challenge after sustaining a hip injury that has prevented him from being deployed on military operations.

He has turned to his home-town - and his favourite football team - for inspiration for the book, entitled The Wanderer.

The futuristic tale of people and class is a fictional work set in the aftermath of nuclear war. It started life as a thread on Whites website forum The-wanderer.co.uk Cpl Cox, a father-of-two, who is currently posted in Oxfordshire, said: "I wanted to challenge myself and accomplish something I never thought I could.

"The first few posts on the website received an encouraging response so I finished it and approached publishers.

"It's a long journey from the first sentence to seeing it in print but it's a dream come true."

The 20-chapter manuscript took two-months to complete and is being printed by Authorhouse.

Cpl Cox, a former Smithills High School pupil, has been married to Sarah for four years and has two children - Connor, aged nine, and Emma, aged three.

The life-long Wanderers fan, who joined the armed forces aged 20, returns to Bolton to visit his parents.

He said: "Bolton will always be home to me so it seemed the obvious setting for the book."

CplCox is already working on a sequel.