Yorkshire soldiers sample Saltburn's fish and chips after training session on beach

About 150 troops from the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery travelled from their base in North Yorkshire to Saltburn yesterday to be put through their paces on the town’s beach.

Yesterday’s training exercise saw teams of eight troops undertake a three-mile race across the beach’s dunes, while each carrying a 15-kilogramme pack on their backs.

After the race, which took just over 30 minutes to complete, the soldiers underwent circuit training on the beach.

However, there was some respite from the physical activity, as the soldiers were able to sample fish and chips from Saltburn during their lunch break.

Major Ed Denton, the battery commander of 129 (Dragon) Battery in the regiment, told The Yorkshire Post it is hoped that the exercise will trigger new interest with more recruits coming forward.

He said: “We have traditionally recruited from the North-East of England, but there is a renewed emphasis to try and attract recruits from towns such as Saltburn and down into North Yorkshire.

“We hope that by having a training event in public, it will show people just what it is to be a member of the regiment – we want to get a message out that while we work hard, we do play hard too.”

The regiment, which is based in Topcliffe, near Thirsk, has more than 400 troops, with many of them currently deployed around the world on operations.

Soldiers are currently on training exercises in Kenya and Oman, while colleagues have just returned from duties in Poland as well as Louisiana, in the United States of America.