Matthew Tapp meeting his son Kieron for the first time

Welsh soldiers who were involved in some of the heaviest fighting of the Iraqi have arrived back in the UK.

About 50 members of the Queen's Dragoon Guards - also known as the Welsh Cavalry - have returned to their Catterick base in Yorkshire after three months in the desert.

During the conflict, 600 troops from the regiment were involved in tank skirmishes and the capture of Saddam Hussein's presidential palace in the southern city of Basra.

Families travelled to Yorkshire to greet the troops as they arrived home.

When trooper Matthew Tapp left for the Gulf, his fianc�e Emma Jarett was pregnant with their child.

He has now been introduced to his five-week-old son Kieron for the first time.

"My legs are still shaking," he said.

"I was pacing up and down the bus and the lads were all laughing at me.

The soldiers were at the head of action in southern Iraq

"He looks bigger than the pictures show - I need to sit down and have a cup of tea.

Ms Jarett said it had "not been very nice at all" without Matthew.

"When the baby started to notice things, I wished Matthew was there," she said.

"It has been horrible, just waiting for him to come back - I can take him home now."

Matthew Tapp's mother, Janita, said she was relieved the wait for her son to return safely was over.

She added: "You try and stay very calm and inside your stomach is clenched all the time - it's not a nice feeling at all."

Trooper Merrick Lacey, 20, from Pontypridd, was met by his wife, Leanne, 19, who is due to give birth in June.

Merrick said: "It's been hard due to the big culture shock. Time dragged out there.

Merrick Lacey with his pregnant wife Leanne

"The very first morning we woke up there, we were mortared, but we got away safely.

"I'm very excited to be back home to get some beer down my neck and get some proper food.

"I missed being able to relax properly. I missed my wife and a proper bed."

Leanne added: "I'm thrilled to bits to see him. It's been hard with me being pregnant and emotional."

Reconnaissance tanks from the Queen's Dragoon Guards were at the spearhead of British operations in and around the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Members of the regiment were rewarded for their efforts in destroying more than 20 Iraqi tanks by being presented with the Commando dagger by the Royal Marines.

It was thought to be first time an army unit had received such recognition.

The Queen's Dragoon Guards specialise in scouting missions on the battlefield.

Their Gulf assignment followed a year of intensive training, including exercises in Canada.