Welcome home parade for Royal Irish Regiment

Shropshire-based soldiers serving in Afghan-istan will be welcomed back to the county at a homecoming parade in Shrewsbury next month.

The parade for the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, which is based at Tern Hill Barracks, will be held on April 12 - a day after a similar event is held in Market Drayton.

The Shrewsbury event will take place from 10am and will start at Castle Gates with a march through the town centre.

Hundreds of people are expected to line the street at both events which have been organised to show the county's appreciation for the work being carried out by the Armed Forces.

Councillor Kath Owen, Mayor of Shrewsbury, who will be attending next month's parade, said: "I think these soldiers are extremely brave and I think it's wonderful that we can honour these people who go to these countries and never know if they are going back to their families and whether they will see them again."