SOLDIERS who returned to Catterick Garrison from Iraq have been reunited with their families and friends.

A plane carrying 150 troops from B Company of the 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment touched down on Tuesday night (May 29) at Durham Tees Valley Airport, where it was greeted by a piper, Gunner Dean Wallace.

The soldiers were taken by bus to Somme Barracks at the base, where there were tearful reunions with partners and children after a seven-month tour of duty in the Gulf.

The soldiers are the last from the battalion to return to the UK; in the past three weeks, 300 troops from A Company and C Company have flown back from Iraq.

The battalion operated south-west of Basra city, where its role included meeting residents, civic leaders and security forces and encouraging organisations to work together towards a more stable country.

Major Craig Powers said the soldiers would have two weeks to readjust to being back in the UK and would exchange desert combats for "green kit." They would be allowed time to relax and de-stress and talk to padres and welfare officers if they wished.

They would then have three weeks' post-operational leave before returning to the garrison for three weeks before the month-long summer leave began. They would then resume normal activities, including training on new radio systems.

While they were away, the soldiers were able to keep in touch with their families at Catterick via email and 30 minutes of phone calls every week. Each battle group also had its own internet website with news and messages.