SOLDIERS from North Yorkshire will be facing an unusual enemy on an exercise abroad.

The party of six serving with the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment have set out to join Exercise Northern Arctic Rose.

They are expecting the weather to prove a real challenge after they leave Toronto for Greenland, where they will set out on a 350km trek on skis across the frozen wastes of Elsmere Island National Park.

However, it is the polar bears the men have been warned to watch out for.

"We all know we are going to be pushed to the very limits of our physical capabilities, but that is the real challenge ahead," said Captain Joe McMahon. "One of our biggest fears is bumping into a huge and hungry polar bear.

"In the Canadian National Park, no firearms are allowed so we have to concentrate on our polar bear safety drills."

The team has been issued with pamphlets published by the national park - which include advice on what to do if confronted by one of the beasts.

Ominously, though, it concludes: "The best way to live safely with bears is to avoid contact with them.