APRIL 4: PEOPLE in Wiltshire have a chance to rally behind soldiers fighting on the battlefield in Iraq.

Working with a soldier's wife, the Wiltshire Times and Chippenham News, together with our sister paper Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, has set up Treats for the Troops campaign. We are urging people to send in supplies to our Duke Street office in Trowbridge to give our soldiers' morale a massive boost.

Because of the strength of Iraqi resistance, the battle to overthrow Saddam Hussein is expected to drag on for months which means troops will be away from their families and friends for a long period of time.

Sharon Shakespeare's husband, Gary, has been in Iraq with the Royal Signals, based at Basil Hill, near Corsham, for the past two months. She is hoping people across Wiltshire will donate shoeboxes filled with supplies before April 17, and has joined forces with other army wives to get them sent out to the Middle East.

"I came up with the idea of sending some kind of message to the troops to let them know we are all thinking about them. Now it's really taken off. The other wives here have been great and are packing boxes." People from across the county have already pledged their support for the thousands of men and woman in the Middle East. After an appeal in the Warminster area, Ros Wilson and May Law collected enough supplies to fill two large boxes.

Mrs Wilson, of the Heathlands, said: "We wanted to help because Warminster is a garrison town."

Steve Southall, of Wyvern Walk, Westbury, hopes people will support the soldiers irrespective of their feelings about the war. He said: "It is high time we got behind our boys and girls and give them the support they deserve."

Wiltshire troops are playing a key role on the battlefield in Iraq. About 200 troops from the 21 Signal Regiment, based in Colerne, are dotted around different locations, providing communications for the RAF helicopter fleet. Soldiers serving with the Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire TA Regiment are now in the Gulf exercising their speciality as nuclear, chemical and biological experts.

The 120-strong Royal Tank Regiment left Warminster just over a month ago and personnel from the Land Warfare Centre in the town are also in action.