PROUD Army volunteers have returned home from a peace-keeping tour of the Balkans.

A total of 25 men from 102 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), based in Newton Aycliffe, were deployed on a six-month operational tour of Kosovo and Bosnia.

Although some REME volunteers have made individual tours, this is the first time a full body has been deployed since the Second World War.

Staff Sergeant Robin Smith said: "We asked for volunteers and all these men stepped forward. What's even more remarkable is that they left their normal jobs on hold and the employers have left them open. There's been a lot of community cooperation."

The volunteers say it gave them a great sense of achievement.

Corporal Dennis Sinfield, 45, of Catterick, North Yorkshire, was in Bosnia as a chef. He said: "The sights that I saw brought it home because you were closer to it - you don't realise how these people have suffered."

He also spoke of seeing houses riddled with bullets.

Craftsman Stephen Rarity, 31, of Brompton-on-Swale, also North Yorkshire, helped to build a children's playground in Kosovo. He said: "The playground was one of the first in Kosovo which mixed Serbs and Albanians and everybody's heart strings got pulled by the kids."

To mark the return, Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a message of congratulations and thanks. He said: "You made a vital contribution to sustaining our overall operational effort in the Balkans, and in helping secure a lasting peace."

A home-coming parade was held at the Aycliffe Armoury this week.

Staff Sgt Smith said: "They've done really well peace-keeping and it's credit all round - a real hearts and minds thing."