ESSEX soldiers have been praised for carrying out “cracking work” on the frontline in Afghanistan.

Some 400 soldiers from 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, which recruits from the county and is known as the Vikings, are halfway through a six-month mission in the notorious Helmand province.

In a mid-tour report, commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel James Woodham MC said his men were in “a challenging, but absolutely winnable counterinsurgency campaign”.

He said: “In all the areas of Afghanistan in which the Vikings are deployed the situation is improving, which has been the result of the extraordinary professionalism, bravery and determination of our soldiers.”

C (Essex) Company is serving with the Grenadier Guards Battlegroup in Nad-e’Ali, a hotly-contested region where they have clashed with the Taleban most days.

Lt Col Woodham said families returning to the area showed “the pendulum is swinging our way” in the district.

He said: “Their operations are providing security to an area in which everyday life can continue, schools and clinics can reopen and the Afghanistan government can conduct its business.

“They are also winning over some of the local population and have been successful in convincing them that ISAF and the Afghan National Security Forces can provide a viable alternative to the Taleban.”

A (Norfolk) Company is operating around Musa Qal’eh and D (Cambridge-shire) Company is responsible for the town of Gereshk.