A YEAR on from the Gulf War in Iraq, the parents of one soldier have spoken about how they felt as their son went into battle.

Reverend David Griffiths and his wife Brenda were glued to the television when their son John (30), a captain in the Royal Signals Corps with the 16th Air Assault Brigade was deployed around Basra.

Rev Griffiths, the vicar at Christchurch in Ainsworth, said: "Before the war actually started we were able to speak to John but when they finally went into battle it wasn't possible for us to get in touch.

"We didn't know where he was and he wasn't able to tell us. Although it was all over very quickly, we didn't know this at the time.

"As far as we knew, it could have gone on for a lot longer, which was something we had to prepare ourselves for."

John, who is based at Catterick in North Yorkshire, plans to leave the army in a year's time to train to become a doctor in Sheffield.

But he could still be sent to Kosovo, depending on how the situation develops there.

The intelligence collected by the Government regarding the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is still to be proved correct.

But Rev Griffiths, who is also the Bury ministry development advisor, added: "The job of a soldier is difficult. They are constantly on the move and sometimes it is very difficult to keep up with where they are.

"When the war was over, John was still out there near the war zone for a while and then turned up on the Thursday before Easter.

"We weren't expecting that, but it was lovely to see him.

"We were so grateful that he was safe and back with us. Other people's families just weren't that lucky."