A SOLDIER who went missing on a night training exercise sparked a full-scale alert involving police, a mountain rescue team and a helicopter.

The young soldier had been taking part in a "night stalk" exercise on the training area by Catterick Garrison which came to an end at about 9pm yesterday.

But when a head count was taken at the finish he was found to be missing and both the military police and the civilian police were informed.

The Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team, which was already on an exercise of its own, were later called in and a helicopter from RAF Leconfield carried out a thermal sweep of the area.

They failed to find the soldier, but he was discovered safe and well at about 7.30am earlier today, when he was located with another group of soldiers on a different exercise.

An Army spokesman said: "The soldier was with a group training in the pitch black and basically he became disorientated.

"But he then did everything right and followed his safety briefing, putting on warm clothing and bedding himself down. In the morning he then found another unit and got back to base safe and well."

The exercise was taking place in the area near Risedale Beck where another soldier, 17-year-old recruit Andrew Borkertas, died during a training exercise in June.

He was washed away while crossing the beck when it was flood and his body was found a day later some 150 metres downstream.