A TERRITORIAL Army volunteer from Worcester is preparing to go back to Iraq to complete the remainder of his tour of duty.

Staff Sgt Nick Balsdon, who is serving in the south-east of the war-ravaged country undertaking construction work with the Royal Engineers, had an emotional reunion with his wife Lucie when he returned to his Nunnery Wood home on Friday, January 21, for a well-deserved two-week break.

However, the 36-year-old will be heading back to the country, which has just had its first free elections in decades, tomorrow.

"With the elections, the country seems to be heading in the right direction.

"But it is still early days to say what will happen," said Nick.

He has kept Evening News readers enthralled over the past four months with his first-hand accounts of life in Iraq.

"The long-term goal is for the Iraqis to rule themselves."

Victory over terror

The country's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has described the elections on Sunday as a victory over terrorism.

According to the UN the overall turnout is around 60 per cent, with some eight million Iraqis voting.

Nick is now looking forward to the final two months of service in teh Gulf.

"The sooner I get back to Iraq the sooner I can start ticking off the days," he said.

"Being away has been harder on Lucie because it's very straight forward for me in that I know what I'm doing each day and I live amongst hundreds of people. Lucie has to come home to an empty house."

During his short break Nick has, in his own words, "done as little as possible".

But he did find the time to qualify as a chartered builder after attending an interview last week in Ascot, in Berkshire.

"Becoming a chartered builder gives me recognition for the 15 years I have been in the construction industry," he said.

Read Nick Balsdon's Iraq diary in the Evening News each week.