AFTER six gruelling months in one of the most troubled areas of Northern Ireland, three Burnley lads have arrived back home.

Gunner Anthony Fisher, 19, Private Peter Quinn, 19 and Lance Corporal Squire all from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment have recently completed their six month tour of duty and are looking forward to a well earned rest, catching up with friends and family.

All the lads have returned back to their base in Catterick, North Yorkshire. Private Quinn, a past pupil of St Theodore's RC School, joined the army almost three years ago as an infantry soldier.

At present he is working towards promotion and trying to get into the battalion boxing team.

Gunner Anthony Fisher is a former student of Townley High and opted for a military career in 1999 with the Royal Artillery.

Around 500 troops from the Queens Lancashire Regiment were responsible for supporting the Royal Ulster Constabulary in maintaining law and order in South Armagh between April and September of this year.

The Queen's Lancashire Regiment recruits almost exclusively from the Lancashire area. Lt Col Steve Davies said: " I've got some of the best soldiers in the British Army. Lancastrians are ideally suited to this sort of situation, with their great sense of humour, high levels of morale and the strong streak of humanity which runs straight down their spines. They're very good at diffusing situations and I am extremely proud, as a Lancastrian myself, to command them."