FAMILIES of Royal Anglians coming home from the Afghan frontline have been warned to show “special understanding” to their loved ones amid fears that some of the returning troops may be suffering from severe battle trauma.

FAMILIES of Royal Anglians coming home from the Afghan frontline have been warned to show “special understanding” to their loved ones amid fears that some of the returning troops may be suffering from severe battle trauma.

The appeal comes as troops of the 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment enter their last few days of a gruelling and bloody six-month tour in Helmand province and prepare for the journey home.

It has been issued by the battalion's senior soldier, Regimental Sergeant Major Ian Robinson who said: “Adjusting from the trauma of war to the normality of the UK can be a big step for some soldiers.

“Some will have difficulty with that and we will support them. For some people it will take longer than others.

“My message to families is just to give those returning soldiers time, love and support and to be there for them.”

Virtually all of the soldiers from the battalion - nicknamed the Vikings - have seen comrades killed or wounded, have been involved in intense fire-fights with Taliban forces on a regular basis during the tour and been forced to kill to defend themselves.

The battalion - which recruits from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex - has taken part in several key operations as part of British forces in the province and scored major successes in pushing the Taliban back, particularly close to Sangin, claiming 800 enemy lives and firing half a million rounds of ammunition.