A SOLDIER from the North-East

spent Christmas in some of Europe's most remote - and coldest - mountains.

Private Axl Harman, 25, of Consett, County Durham, was helping to provide vital support to remote mountain communities in Bosnia as part of the British contribution to the Nato-led Stabilisation Force.

Pte Harman, a Territorial Army soldier serving with the Light Infantry attached to The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Battlegroup, is facing temperatures that can drop to minus 30 degrees celsius.

He said: "This is my first visit to Bosnia. I am a reservist and I volunteered for Kosovo, but ended up here. The country is pretty much what I expected because my brother, Grant, is serving in Kosovo and told me what to expect in the Balkans.

"The people are really friendly and will always offer you a drink - their coffee is thick black stuff and they distil their own home brew which will blow your head off."

Although the Dayton Accord peace agreement was signed in 1995, the task of rebuilding the war-torn region and maintaining peace remains.

Pte Harman and his wife, Susan, have four children, Terence, nine, Martin, seven, Stephanie, five, and Sarah, two. His parents, Daniel and Sheila, also live in Consett