FROM Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley via Tesco in Atherton to the former killing fields of Bosnia is a strange route to take.

But that's the path Louise Fiendley, whose parents still live in the area, has taken.

For Louise, 19, a private with the British Army, has swapped serving bacon across the counter of Tesco's to making sure bacon (and other supplies) are on hand for serving soldiers in the Nato led stabilisation force in Bosnia.

As a member of the Royal Logistics Corps, which she joined two years ago, it is her task to keep the 5,000 British troops supplied with what they need to carry out their role of keeping the peace in the former war-torn Yugoslavian republic.

Louise said: "I enter stores demands on the computer for all the units in Bosnia. The computer then tells me where the items are. I don't do the running about, the computer does it for me. There are about 30 of us in the store. I volunteered to come out there, I wanted a change and to see what an operational tour was like.

"I am glad that I was picked, it has been a very enjoyable tour. If things get a bit quiet on the computer side, I go and help out on the shop floor. I joined the army to be trained on computers and I like the job a lot. I joined the army to prove to others that I could do it and I have."

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