Wiltshire soldiers are in the front line of the volatile political situation in Northern Ireland. Reporter Martin Vincent joined them in Ballykinler, south of Belfast.

PEACE has definitely not broken out in Northern Ireland in spite of what many politicians on the mainland would have us believe.

There are still 13,500 British troops serving in the troubled Province and among them are several soldiers from Swindon.

The men are currently on duty with the 500 strong 1st Battalion the Royal Gloucestershire Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.

Their job is to support and help the police keep the peace and prevent outbreaks of public disorder a task which is just as important today as it was when the troubles first started more than 30 years ago.

The RGBW is based at Ballykinler, a coastal barracks south of Belfast which is only an hour's drive away from the border and the infamous bandit country of South Armagh.

Their peace keeping role is centred around the support they provide to the newly re-named Police Service of Northern Ireland, formally the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

And although the situation in much of the Province is now quieter than it has been for many years the soldiers cannot afford to relax.

At the weekend 21 police officers and three soldiers from another unit were injured when they were attacked by a crowd armed with iron bars and petrol bombs not many miles from Ballykinler and the RGBW could find themselves in the same situation at any time.

Several paramilitary terrorists groups are still determined to sink the Peace Agreement by violence and intimidation.

And Wiltshire's soldiers know that these increasingly active splinter groups which come from both the Nationalist and Loyalist sides can strike at any time.

Soldiers serving with the RGBW are highly trained and do not take sides in any incident they are called to deal with.

And they only go into action if they police call on them. The soldiers regularly carry out routine patrols both on foot and in vehicles and they have special units on call to respond to trouble flashpoints at any time.

During the past two summers Wiltshire soldiers have played an important part in helping to keep the peace during the Loyalist marching season at Drumcree.

To ensure the men are ready to face any situation, training is on-going and as near to the real thing as possible at Ballykinler.

Much of this training goes on in a place the men call Tin City which is in fact a recreation of a typical city street scene with its rows of terraced house, pubs and shops.

I visited Tin City with photographer Mathew Swingler to see the men training.

There was a gale blowing and the rain poured down but there was no let up for the soldiers.

Some of them put on civilian clothing and played the part of a baying street mob out to cause trouble.

Their uniformed colleagues were called in with riot shields and helmets to clear them away.

The incident may well have been make believe.

But there was nothing pretend about the petrol bombs and missiles that were hurled at the soldiers as they made their way shoulder to shoulder to confront the mob.

It was as near to the real situation as you could get and there was no room for mistakes.

The soldiers acted as one team knowing full well that one weak link could result in someone being seriously injured.

Baton round guns are available to the men if any situation does threaten to get out of hand but they are only used as a last resort to restore order.

The fact that they are seldom used is testament to the professionalism and expertise of the men of the RGBW to do the job they have been trained to do.

Read the full feature, including interviews, in the Evening Advertiser (issue December 12).