Territorial Army soldiers from Leicestershire have completed half of their tour of duty as United Nations peacekeepers in Cyprus.

About 270 part-time troops from 3rd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment have been stationed on the Mediterranean island since April to try to prevent trouble between Greek and Turkish Cypriot forces.

They have had to contend with soaring temperatures and occasionally aggressive locals while patrolling a buffer zone between the north of the island, seized by the Turks in 1974, and the Greek-held south.

Initially, they were carrying out armed patrols of the zone, which divides 40,000 Turkish troops and a similar number of Greeks, but now their orders have changed so they are no longer carrying weapons.

Private Nathan McDonald, 24, from Tudor Road, Leicester, said: "It's a bit unnerving being in an area where everyone but you is armed.

"The first time I went out like it I didn't feel good, but the more you do it the more confident you get. It puts a real emphasis on our diplomatic skills.

"I would say the Turkish soldiers have been pretty friendly."

Pte McDonald, a doorman at The High Cross pub, in the city centre, has been in Territorial Army for six years.

He said: "We are half-way through now and I'm starting to miss home a bit but we still have a job to do."

Lorry driver Private Richard Huggett, of Littlethorpe, will celebrate his 43rd birthday in Cyprus in September, before the troops return home at the end of the month.

He said: "The biggest challenge is the heat. It's really uncomfortable at night and it means you have to keep really fit to manage the patrols.

"I'm pleased to say there have not been any unpleasant surprises.

"I've just had two weeks back home on rest and recreation with my family and they all want me home but I am enjoying it."

The Anglians' commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Lyne, said the UN troops had also offered assistance to the Greek Cypriots in the wake of a massive explosion at a naval base on the island on Monday. A bush fire is understood to have ignited 90 containers of gunpowder, causing a blast which killed a dozen people.

Lt Col Lyne said: "It has had quite an impact on the island, affecting power supplies and communications.

"As soldiers, we want to help where we can and when we leave we want this to be a better place than it was when we arrived."