Gurkhas return to Shorncliffe barracks today

Around 80 Gurkhas are being reunited with friends and family today after returning from a tour of Afghanistan.

The soldiers, from A Company of the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, are the last to return of the battalion's 470 members deployed to Afghanistan six months ago.

They have been meeting their family for the first time in months at their base at the Sir John Moore Barracks in Shorncliffe, near Folkestone, this afternoon.

Troops are now set to continue training in preparation for their move to Brunei later this year.

Gurkha wives Amrita and Charun Gurung among those waiting for their husbands at Shorncliffe barracks

However, their return was tinged with sadness as two of their colleagues were shot dead during the same tour.

Lt Edward Drummond-Baxter, 29, and 28-year-old L Cpl Siddhanta Kunwar were killed by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform at a checkpoint in Helmand province last October.

Lt Edward Drummond-Baxter, left, and L Cpl Siddhanta Kunwar

In February, troops from B Company 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles returned to Kent after being stationed in Helmand's Nad-e Ali district for four months.

The Gurkhas handed over their base to local security forces, having seen considerable differences since their previous tour at the same base in 2010 when it was hard fought over by insurgents.

Gurkhas from B Company 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (1RGR) return home early to Kent. Pictures: Ministry of Defence