THIS year spare a thought for two soldiers from Crewe who will be eating their Christmas dinner in a barracks in Northern Ireland.

While most of us have been battling with hordes of last-minute shoppers, Private Peter Floyd, 19, and Lance-Corporal Kevin Parsonage, 22, of the 22nd Cheshire Regiment, have spent most of December preparing offensive manoeuvres and practising tactical operations on the rolling hills of Warcop in Cumbria.

As part of the exercise, troops conducted live firing, and took part in competitive shooting at one of the few places in Britain where personnel can practice battlefield shooting skills.

Colour Sergeant Matt Henry led the three-week exercise. He said: 'A few years ago it would have been unthinkable to send a unit based in Northern Ireland to England for training, as we were needed in support of the police.

'However, with the progress that has been made towards restoring normality in Ulster, we are no longer required as much by the police and so can spare soldiers for training for operations elsewhere in the world.'

Based at Abercorn Barracks at Ballykinler, County Down, the Cheshires are now gearing up for Operation Teric, which will see them deployed in the dangerous dusty plains of Southern Iraq by the end of next year.

However, first of all they are preparing to take part in Exercise Tropical Storm in Belize in Central America in February, the biggest jungle warfare exercise ever carried out by the British Army.