Gurkha soldiers from Kent are celebrating a small victory in the ongoing struggle in Afghanistan.

First Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles, based at Shorncliffe barracks in Folkestone, have been concentrating their efforts on a village in troubled Helmand province.

A month ago, following a vicious insurgent campaign of intimidation including abduction, beatings and murder, many of the villagers in Piand Kalay had fled. Hidden bombs (IEDs) restricted movement and insurgents held compounds and regularly engaged patrols from ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force.

The village is important as it is on the route that links provincial capital Lashkar Gah to the economic hub at Gereshk and represents a key prize in the struggle for influence in the operational area of C Company, 1RGR.

Gurhkas, traditionally from Nepal but also from the UK, have been working with the Afghan National Army on regular patrols and checkpoints, leading to more and more villagers returning to their homes.

Second Lieutenant Charlie Russell, 8 Platoon Commander, said: "Four weeks ago when I used to patrol through the village on a daily basis I’d be lucky if I spoke to three or four people.

"Now, when we walk through the village from checkpoint to checkpoint and push out into the Green Zone, they welcome us - they want to speak to us.

"They are a little intimidated but the overall impression is that they are happy with us in the village and they want to see more progress."

1 RGR took over from the Coldstream Guards in April after the guards had overseen the construction of Route Trident, a road driven through the village as part of Operation Moshtarak earlier in the year.

The road offers freedom of movement to both ISAF and the local population but following the harvesting of poppy there was a sharp increase in insurgent activity and intimidation.

Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Strickland, Commanding Officer 1 RGR, said: "We conducted operations to keep the insurgents away and to stop their attacks and we’ve built check points locations around the villages to stop them continuing their intimidation.

"We do still have an insurgency going on and they are pushed into pockets where they still mount attacks on us from time to time but their ability to move around the area is much reduced.

"We know the Taliban are not supported in the area and we know that people don’t want them and that they are not welcome because of the intimidation and fighting they bring with them."

But he added: "Local people are cowed and they are definitely still waiting to see what will happen….they see the progress but it’s not enough yet but we know it’s going in the right direction."