ONE of the first soldiers to enter Kosovo was Leyland soldier Lance Corporal Nicholas Preston, a gunner in a Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle.

Nicholas, 24, who is serving in the reconnaissance troop of the Kings Royal Hussars, led the tanks into Kosovo as the Kosovo Peace Implementation Force (KFOR) headed towards Pristina.

He said: "When we arrived at our new base in Podujevo all we saw was destruction.

"I have never seen anything like it. The streets were deserted, cars had been turned over, houses and flats were burned out, and the only thing missing was tumbleweed!"

But he added: "Then, out of the blue, people slowly started appearing. After a while the town came alive, people started throwing flowers, clapping and crying with joy.

"I must have shaken 500 hands in the first 20 minutes. The feeling was sensational."

Nicholas is married to Kayko, who normally lives in army quarters in Munster where he is based, but she is back home in Japan while he is in Kosovo.

Nicholas was educated at Balshaws High School, in Leyland, and worked as a car mechanic before joining up in 1994.

His mother Pauline lives in Leyland and his father, Gordon Preston, in Overton.

Nicholas is due to complete his tour of duty in September.

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