Twenty-year-old James Thompson, a driver in the Royal Logistics Corps, 27th Transport Regiment, said it was fantastic to be back home with his family and among other things is looking forward to sleeping in his own bed again after living in a tent with three other people while away.

He said: "It was hard to sleep in the desert but now I have my own bed. It was freezing out there. It got down to minus 10C."

There were some dangerous moments during his tour, including when a rocket propelled grenade landed 20 metres away from where he and fellow soldiers were resting. He said: "One of the scariest things was when my mate got blown up by a mine and got shrapnel in his leg. He was in the truck in front of me. It was terrifying."

He also described finding a four-month-old baby who had fallen on a fire and badly burnt her face and neck. He said: "We took her to a medical centre. If we were not there she would have been dead."

During the Christmas period, he and the other soldiers all received parcels from the Support Our Soldiers campaign, for which they were very grateful. He said: "It was a nice reminder that people back home are still thinking about us. I would ask people to keep supporting the troops out there. It is much appreciated and greatly needed."

He spent time with soldiers from America, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates, and enjoyed eating dinner and playing volleyball with those from the UAE. He said: "I made a lot of friends and got a lot of email adresses."

He has been with the army for four years and was recently promoted to lance corporal. He said: "It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do since I was a little lad. It's a lot different to what I expected but I really enjoy it."

Cyprus will be his next destination, followed by a return to Afghanistan in 2010. He said: "I'm happy to go and do my job."

His mum, Vicky, was delighted to have him back home again. She said: "It's lovely to have him back. I've got my little boy back and I'm very, very proud."