SOLDIERS from the region who have been running an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone have returned home.

Thirty four soldiers from 34 Field Hospital arrived back at Queen Elizabeth Barracks, in Strensall, York, on Friday evening following a three month operational tour.

They were based at a centre in Kerrytown which was opened in November last year and provides 92 beds for the sick.

Families of the soldiers had made banners and decorated many of the married quarter homes at the barracks with balloons to welcome their loved ones home.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Reynolds, who commanded 34 Field Hospital, said: “We are all happy to be back in the UK but quite sad to leave such a beautiful and welcoming country and its people.

“All of us made a significant contribution to the campaign to stamp out Ebola in Sierra Leone.”