AN ex-SAS trooper, reduced to the state of a "grown-up child" after being hit in the head by shrapnel from a mortar round, has won a £4.7m damages payout from the Ministry of Defence. Graham Tomlinson, who lives with his wife and two children in Farnham and is now 38, was an ambitious career soldier who joined up when he was 20 and had served two years with 22 Regiment SAS when tragedy intervened while his unit was engaged in training manoeuvres in Oman in July 2002. Mr Tomlinson had transferred to the SAS - after completing its notoriously ferocious selection procedures - having previously served as a corporal in the elite Parachute Regiment. Based in the SAS's home-town of Hereford, he regularly deployed on low-profile tours to hot- spots around the world, including strife-torn Kosovo. But the July 2002 mortar accident destroyed his military career, leaving him with catastrophic head wounds which a top judge said had left him effectively "a grown-up child". Although still physically fit and able to play sport, Mr Tomlinson is prone to dramatic mood swings, and "behaves inappropriately and often aggressively", Lady Justice Smith told London's Appeal Court. He needs constant supervision - his tendency to "pick on his children over many small things" has placed strain on the family - and the judge said the burden of caring for him has fallen squarely on his devoted wife, Noeleen, who said she was "at the end of her tether". Lady Justice Smith, sitting with Lord Justice May, dismissed Ministry of Defence claims that the £4.7 million awarded to Mr Tomlinson by a judge late last year was too high. The judge said the MoD's appeal against the payout - which, if successful, would have seen Mr Tomlinson's damages cut by more than a million pounds - was "in effect hopeless". The couple's two children are aged 14 and 11, and, during the case, Mrs Tomlinson had spoken of the task she faced in caring for her husband who, because of her injuries, had effectively become like a third child. Quoting from the original judgement in the case, Lady Justice Smith said: "She is at the end of her tether, trying to balance the needs of her husband, children and herself.  She does not think she can continue like this." Mrs Tomlinson had told the court of her daily struggle to look after her stricken husband. "I can't do it. The strain is too much. I am putting the welfare of the children first. I am going to go mad. It is not working. "He fights with the children and every day is a battle. I want a bit of my life back... I want to put my head down on a pillow and know that it's staying there in the morning." In the Appeal Court, the MoD's counsel, Derek Sweeting QC, argued Mrs Tomlinson was going through a "short crisis" and was depressed at the time she gave her evidence and, once recovered, could be expected to continue giving her husband gratuitous care into the future. That, he argued, meant Mr Tomlinson did not need a 24-hour professional care regime and that should have resulted in a much-reduced damages award. However, dismissing the appeal, Lady Justice Smith said one expert had spoken of "the sadly predictable erosion of Mrs Tomlinson's ability to cope" with her husband's care. Describing the MoD's appeal as "in effect hopeless", she said Mr Tomlinson needs constant watching and supervision and, without a 24-hour care regime, there was a real threat his marriage might break down. Mrs Tomlinson is often disturbed in the night by her husband's needs and the judge said that, for her, it was "like having a young baby, not just for a few years, but for the rest of her life". She also rejected MoD claims that Mr Tomlinson had been awarded too much for his lost earnings and the costs of moving to a five-bedroom house in Farnham. Had it not been for the accident, the judge said Mr Tomlinson would have continued in the SAS until he was in his 40s and then taken highly paid security work abroad. Also refusing the MoD permission to appeal, Lord Justice May said: "The unfortunate reality is that this brain damage means Mr Tomlinson has to be treated largely as a grown-up child". Although accepting the damages award was a high one for an accident victim who does not need constant nursing care, he said the reality of Mr Tomlinson's condition meant that looking after him was always "going to cost a packet". Mrs Tomlinson told the court that one of the most disturbing features of her husband's behaviour is his tendency to wander off in the midnight hours so that she wakes in the small hours to find that he has left the house. His nocturnal wanderings have taken him on trips around the local town after midnight, including journeys to the local park, Tesco, and the police station. "I just have to wait for him to come home," Mrs Tomlinson said.