FOR Chris Pounder this year will be his first Christmas away from home - and he is, not surprisingly, missing his family.

The 21-year-old former pupil at Towneley High School, Burnley, is currently stationed in Iraq with the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment - and he is just one of many wanting to send Christmas messages back home.

His mum, Sharon said there would be a place at their Christmas dinner table for where he would usually be sitting.

His bothers and sisters, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins will gather at the Pounder family home in Burnley on Christmas morning.

But Chris will be hundreds of miles away from home after volunteering after three years in the army to be sent out to Iraq until February.

Sharon, a carer, said she was dreading spending the day without him and was so excited when she heard her son had sent her a Christmas message.

The 43-year-old said: "I am not look-ing forward to Christmas as much this year. We miss Chris so much. He left in November and I still haven't got used to the idea that he will not be here. All his cousins think the world of him and they keep asking when he's coming home.

"We have a big family Christmas every year and it will be very strange that he won't be there."

Sharon, who is working for part of the day at Towneley House Residential Home, plans to have Christmas all over again in February when Chris returns.

The tinsel will make a reappearance from the loft and the table will be set with crackers, party hats and the full trimmings of a family Christmas dinner.

Sharon added: "I can't wait for him to come home. I'm so excited. We will be having another Christmas when he comes back. He knows all about it and says that is what is helping him cope while he's there. I worry about him being there. It's a dangerous place. I'm in touch with him as often as he can. I send him test messages most days seeing if he's OK. I can't wait for our February Christmas. he will get the full monty."

Chris, who has also travelled to Cyprus and Germany with the army will return to Burnley for two week leaves before returning.

He hopes to take his corporal exams later this year. Across the waters in Germany the regiment's 1st battalion officially took over its new base at Belfast Barracks, Osnabruck, Germany, a year ago this month.

Many Lancashire servicemen and women have now set up home there and will spending the festive season there with their families.

Chris is one of five servicemen who have sent home messages through the Lancashire Telegraph Also away from home at Christmas is Royal Navy aircraft engineer Dave Stott, who will spend the festive period on board HMS Lancaster.

It will be the 28th Christmas he has spent away from Burnley after moving out of the area and spending many a Christmas at sea.

Dave, who is a big Burnley fan, now lives in Cornwall where he and his wife Laura have recently had a baby boy, Charlie. They are currently both flying out to Florida where the ship is moored up after travelling around the Caribbean. Dave's message to his family is: "Happy Christmas and Happy New Year to Mum, Dad, Brian, James, Linzi and Mark from David, Laura and your grandson/nephew Charlie. Let's hope the Clarets have a good Christmas too!"

Leading Operator Mechanic for the Royal Navy, John Kay, of Blackburn, will be working over Christmas as part of the UK led Coalition Task Force 150 Headquarters team in Bahrain.

John is part of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. This area includes the main shipping routes from the Far East to Europe and the US.