In the latest of their reports from Iraq, reporter Steve Parsley and photographer Stuart Boulton meet some of the Iraqis for their views of the war and its aftermath.

IF you hear a Scouse accent in the bars in Catterick Garrison, it is more than likely you are listening to a soldier from the King's Regiment.

A unit with a proud history, even Liverpool's famous Kop is named after one of its battle honours.

But, at the moment, the bars are quiet; 1 King's are in Iraq and, today, it is checkpoints and tented camps which echo to voices from the north-west.

The regiment was assigned to patrol parts of northern Basra, as well as open desert near the Iran/Iraq border.

Although security is an issue, it is only a part of the problem; Iraq is still in turmoil and, with no effective leadership of their own, locals are turning to smuggling and the black market to help supplement their meagre incomes.

It is not uncommon for Iraqi men to go out into the streets armed with axes and grenades. They use the explosives to expose the underground power cables and the axes to cut through them so they can strip out the copper to sell.

Those who survive stand to make enough cash to live on but, in the meantime, a whole neighbourhood will have to do without electricity, while the oil refineries which process fuel to power air conditioning and the city's vast fleet of buses and taxis grind to a halt.

1 King's patrols have had some success at frustrating the looters. An arsenal of captured weapons at one of the camps is also a testament to the determination of their adversaries and to the risks they face every day.

But even the Iraqis know there is no quick fix and they are expecting the British patrols to remain part of life in Basra for a long time to come.

Shahab Hamid, who runs a petrol station in Basra, said: "Maybe we will have a government one day and the British Army will leave, but it will not be for a long time.

"Everything is quiet now because the troops have managed to get petrol out of the refineries, but looting makes things hard.

"I would like to see soldiers come to my business quickly when the tankers arrive to deliver fuel."

Market trader Abas Ali has to work from dawn every day to earn the equivalent of a few US dollars, and understands why some may be tempted to make more by resorting to crime.

But he only smiles when asked if he can see a day when the troops will leave.

He said: "Maybe one day very far in the future."

The soldiers cannot respond to every call for help, but 1 King's troops have been doing what they can to foster a rapport with the Basra communities, befriending them where they can.

Sergeant Steve Talbot has been at Camp Wilderness, on the banks of the Shat Al Arab waterway since June, and has had time to get to know some of the people.

He said: "Of course, we hear from time to time that we are not welcome and we are under threat, but the reality is that people also know that if we leave, so does their protection.

"As a result, we get to hear about what is happening in the area, which helps us target our patrols in the right areas, which helps to keep the situation calm."