THE head of the British Army has thanked the people of Worcester for giving a rapturous reception to soldiers returning from fighting on the frontline in southern Afghanistan.

General Sir Richard Dannatt said the homecoming parade, which happened a week ago today, meant a lot to troops from 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) and their families. Following a campaign by your Worcester News to get people to attend the event, thousands lined the streets to clap and cheer as 350 soldiers marched through the city centre.

In a letter to Mayor of Worcester Stephen Inman, Gen Dannatt wrote: "There has been a lot of media coverage recently on the issue of the support shown by the nation to the Armed Forces, but not all of the reporting made it clear that the Army, indeed all of the armed forces, are enormously grateful to those who do help - and I know that Worcester has been deeply supportive of the Mercian Regiment, and 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment before, for a long time.

"In many respects, it is the things that cost nothing that are the ones that are the most important - a friendly greeting in the street, a prayer in church, a reference in the local paper or people paying their respects to those soldiers who have fallen in battle.

"I also know that your support for the soldiers of the Mercian Regiment was greatly appreciated by their families - it is, after all, they who are the unsung heroes in these operationally busy times, and for them to know that their local community supports their loved ones is a major fillip.

"Thank you once again. Your example is, I hope, an inspiration to others."

The homecoming parade was a chance to welcome back the men who had spent up to six months fighting in demanding conditions against a fierce enemy in the notorious Helmand province.

A service at the Cathedral also remembered the nine men who died in combat during that time.

Troops were also awarded campaign medals at a civic reception at the Guildhall.