BRAVE Dawlish lad James Frost returned from the Iraq conflict last week to the waiting arms of his loving family.

James, who is a reservist, joined the Air Force in 1990, did 12 weeks' training and was then posted to Weston-super-Mare.

He spent two and a half years there then three years in Germany, where he met his wife.

He was sent to the Gulf on March 29.

James supported the troops delivering fuel for various vehicles and faced getting up at 6.30am to do 12 hour shifts, temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius and the constant worry of chemical attacks. One missile landed only 200 metres away from where he was living.

'Everyone was pretty depressed because of the war,' he said. 'But morale was good. What really kept us all going was the communication with our family and loved ones at home and being able to send and receive text messages as well as blueys, which are official forces letters.'

One thing that he said he would never forget is when local children were trying to sell him AK-47s that they had found in order to get some money, and the continual diving into bunkers when the air raid sirens went off.

When the end of the war was announced, there was much rejoicing and a celebratory barbecue bought the lads back to reality.

The thought of going home was a welcome relief as well.

James' family travelled to RAF Brize Norton to welcome him home and were all very excited about it.

Diana Norton, his mother, said: 'We are all very proud of him and were very frightened for him when he was out there. It's brilliant to have him back and there's no words to describe how we feel. He's home, safe and back with the people who love him.

'My grandson even complained about having a headache because we were shouting so much for James. It was a very emotional reunion,' added Diana.

All James wanted when he returned was some pork, beer and bed. Pork and alcohol are banned for Muslims, and, as the troops were in a Muslim country, they had to follow the rule.

'When we landed, it was a wonderful feeling to be back on English soil.

'It was heaven when I saw my family but the weather was a bit chilly compared to out there.' said James.

He is planning to spend as much time with his family as he can.