SOLDIERS from a regiment which recently completed a ten-month tour in Afghanistan will today give Father Christmas a ride in a Lynx helicopter.

Troops from 9 Regiment Army Air Corps, based at Dishforth Airfield, near Thirsk, will drop Father Christmas off at Boroughbridge High School at 10.15am, where he will meet children from local feeder schools.

The trip follows the Freedom of Boroughbridge parade this summer, when the Army Air Corps Colonel-in-Chief Prince Charles presented medals to members of the regiment for their service in Afghanistan.

The regiment currently has 672 Squadron deployed in Afghanistan, who will be there over the Christmas period before being replaced in late January by 659 Squadron.