By Jemima Laing BBC News Online Devon

Local people have already begun to leave flowers at the gates

Placed gently outside the Stonehouse barracks, the bouquet carried the hand-written legend "Such a tragic loss. Plymouth will never forget you."

The blooms were left near the base within hours of the news that eight British servicemen from 3 Commando Brigade had died in a helicopter crash in Kuwait.

Stonehouse Barracks - home of the 3 Commando Brigade - has been associated with the military for centuries and the site is part of the fabric of the close-knit community.

People in Stonehouse are just waiting for them to come back safe and sound June Gempton, Stonehouse resident

A cleaner at the barracks described the news as "devastating".

"I am working today and it's terrible in there," said the woman, who declined to be named.

"We went in to clean the offices and were told to leave them.

"All the men are devastated - they are lost for words and are just anxiously waiting for news.

"It's awful to think we probably know some of the people involved."

And at Ferry Stores, close to the barracks, Christine Walker working behind the counter said the fact it appears to have been an accident made the news more shocking.

"It makes it worse somehow," she said.

"A lot of the guys don't live around here but they're based here and a lot of them come in the shop.

"If it is one of the ones I know I'll be really upset."

Telephone line

Stonehouse resident June Gempton served as a wren 50 years ago and lives just yards from the barracks.

"It's just terrible for those boys and I can't even begin to imagine what their families are feeling," she said.

"It's very quiet here at the moment, we are so used to seeing them around here, and I have never heard anyone complain about them."

"People in Stonehouse are just waiting for them to come back safe and sound."

The Navy is operating a special telephone line for relatives on 0845 741 4544.