PICTURES of the war in Iraq were taken by one of the region's soldiers and seen by millions on the front pages of newspapers across the UK.

The work of Corporal Paul Jarvis, of Ripon, North Yorkshire, included the well-published picture of US Lieutenant General Jeff Conway addressing members of 7th Armoured Brigade, just days before the start of military action in the Gulf.

"I knew it was a big photo when I took it, but I didn't realise how big it would be," he said. "I was over the moon when I found out."

Cpl Jarvis, who is serving with Media Operations at HQ Land Command in Wilton, near Salisbury, was working as a Royal Logistics Corps photographer, when he was sent to Kuwait in February.

The mission came only seven months after becoming a fully trained photographer.

Cpl Jarvis, 31, was part of a team embedded with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, undergoing final preparations for the move on Iraq. Although he went on to photograph the war from the front line, he said the fear for his own life was never a major factor.

"I was quite apprehensive when we walked into Basra with 3 Para - the first ground troops to enter the town," he said.

"But as soon as the local people knew that Saddam couldn't hurt them any more there was total jubilation and they couldn't do enough for us. It was sometimes difficult to take the photos because the local kids were always in front of the camera."

An ex-pupil at Ripon City School, Cpl Jarvis joined the Army in 1987, serving with the Armoured Engineers in the 1991 Gulf War.