By Trevor Porter

Five hundred Wiltshire-based troops are playing a key role in war-ravaged Kosovo in the run-up to crucial elections on October 28.

The 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry were sent out a month ago to barracks in Pristina, the capital of the Balkans province liberated last year after a prolonged Nato bombing campaign.

The young soldiers trained extensively on Salisbury Plain before flying out for their two-month deployment, due to end late next month.

In Kosovo they have to keep apart two communities divided by religion and history the ethnic Albanians, who make up 80 per cent of the population, and the Serbs, who comprise the remainder.

The Light Infantry troops, normally based at Bulford, patrol the streets of Pristina, man checkpoints and guard places of worship, which would probably otherwise be burned to the ground. The Wiltshire troops are already making their mark in Kosovo.

Lt Jake White, 26, is one of the battalion's stars after arresting an Albanian thought to have been involved in up to 300 murders. The man is likely to be tried for war crimes in The Hague.

The troops have been winning the hearts of civilians, parading their light tanks and troop carriers at a fun day in Pristina.