TWO old school chums - both soldiers from the Preston area - have been reunited thousands of miles away from home in war-torn Bosnia.

Corporal Mark Gleave, aged 29, and Private Brian Jackson 25, both from Leyland and formerly of Wellfield High School, work from the same Saxon armoured vehicle patrolling the dangerous minefields of Bocac Dam.

Mark, whose parents John and Margaret still live in Leyland, said that they undertook community tasks to help local people return to some sort of normality.

"Our work involves carrying out censuses to see what equipment is needed and where people are getting their food from. We look for and recover unidentified explosive objects and get rid of weapons - rockets, rocket launchers and grenades have been found," he added.

The two, who are members of the 1st Battalion The Queen's Lancashire Regiment, are not the only local lads serving in the Eastern European country. Others include Lance Corporal Nigel Adams, 27, from Ashton on Ribble, Private Patrick Worden, 21, from Preston and Private Darron Smith, 21, from Fulwood.

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