British troops braced themselves for a restless night when news came through that US forces had captured Chemical Ali.

In the last of their reports, Steve Parsley and photographer Stuart Boulton met soldiers who guard the headquarters of 19 Mechanised Brigade, at Saddam's former presidential palace in Basra.

THE night sky over Basra was lit up by flares and tracer fire on Thursday night as the city celebrated news of the capture of Chemical Ali.

And the soldiers with the best view were probably the sentries in the guard towers around Saddam's former Presidential Palace on the banks of the Shatt Al Arab waterway, now used as 19 Mechanised Brigade's headquarters.

Most are members of the North-East's Tyne Tees Regiment, a Territorial Army unit called up to supplement regular British troops in Iraq.

They left jobs and family at home to fly here last month, and will remain in the Middle East until January.

Lieutenant Paul Hindmarch, a projects engineer with Ringtons, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, said: "Thursday night was no big deal, to be honest.

"When Saddam's two sons were killed, it was a lot more intense and some spent rounds were landing in the palace compound.

"There was nothing malicious in it. Iraqis celebrate by firing guns into the air, but the bullets have to come down somewhere."

There were no reports of any injuries or of any violence or disorder, but the regiment still has to remain alert.

Because of links with authority, the palace is often a focal point for Iraqis with grievances, and there have been as many as 1,000 outside the gates, mostly giving vent to their feelings about the lack of power, fuel and water.

Captain Charlie Burns said: "At times like that, you have got to pick out the ringleaders, take them aside and listen to their grievances.

"While you are doing that, others will try to clear a path through the crowd so vehicles can still get in and out of the palace.

"Most of the time, once they think they have made their point and had a fair hearing, people disperse and go home."

However, Sergeant Billy Swales, a Stockton truck driver, said soldiers take nothing for granted.

He said: "It is not a good idea to stick your head out of the windows in the guard towers unless you have got a helmet on.

"Some of the kids round here are pretty handy with a catapult, while others will try to sell you anything from cigarettes to rocket-propelled grenades. They have even turned up recently with a DVD which they claim is a compilation of the atrocities carried out under Saddam's regime."

Lt Hindmarch said: "An Iraqi turned up at the gates one afternoon claiming he knew where to find weapons of mass destruction.

"He was quickly whisked through security and taken to HQ for interrogation but, once he was in the office with the intelligence officers, it turned out all he really wanted was a job in the kitchens."

Guard duty in temperatures as high as 67C is also demanding. Soldiers must drink six litres of water a day to ward off heat exhaustion, more if they are patrolling, and plenty have said they have passed the time by dreaming of waterfalls.

Private Mark Gardner, of Billingham, said: "We have also got a sort of running quiz going. It helps kill the time."

However, a calendar etched into the stone marking the days until the unit returns to the UK suggests it is not all that successful.