Video: 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment in Leeds homecoming

THE army got a heroes’ welcome as troops from the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment marched through Leeds following a six-month tour of Afghanistan.

By The Newsroom

Published 12th Jul 2012, 18:30 BST

The squaddies were applauded by thousands as they marched through Bradford and then the city centre, from Millennium Square, to The Headrow and Briggate.

The homecoming parade ended at the Leeds Civic Hall, where the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Coun Ann Castle, made a speech welcoming them back to the city.

Earlier this month the government announced the regiment’s 2nd Battalion would be lost as part of defence cuts. The cuts mean the 2nd Battalion, formerly the Green Howards, will be absorbed into the rest of regiment in autumn 2013.

In March, five soldiers from 3 Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, were killed when a bomb exploded under their vehicle in Helmand province.

Capt Alex Nancola from 1 Battalion, said: “It’s great to be back on home soil in Yorkshire. We have been away in Afghanistan for six months, and more for some, and as ever we received huge support from the Yorkshire public.”