The wife of a marine given a life sentence for murder has said she feels like she is in a “terrible dream”.

Claire Blackman spoke to The Daily Telegraph for the first time since her husband Alexander Blackman, who she calls Al, was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of ten years.

Blackman, whose mother is understood to still live in Brighton where he is originally from, was filmed shooting dead an injured Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan.

He shot the man at close range with a 9mm pistol.

He said to the man on shooting him: “There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you ****. It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us.”

A court was told the action took place “in cold blood” and Blackman was discharged with disgrace from the Royal Marines.

The 39-year-old has been named publically following the incident in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in September 2011, despite extremist target fears.

Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett told Blackman, originally from Brighton, “You treated that Afghan man with contempt and murdered him in cold blood”.

Mrs Blackman, a PR executive from Somerset, said her husband was ashamed of his actions.

She told the newspaper: “I still think I am going to wake up and find it’s been a terrible dream. If only one could rewind – hindsight is a wonderful thing.

“I am sure Al would love to just travel back in time and undo that moment. I don’t doubt it for a second. It’s been described as a moment of madness, a lack of judgment. He can’t undo it and he’s terribly ashamed of it but I still don’t think it should have led to where we are now.”

But the 42-year-old added both her and Blackman were overwhelmed by the support they had received, saying: “I no longer feel alone. It feels like the whole country is behind us.”