Lorry driver Dave Midgley has earned a special nickname from his Territorial Army colleagues while on duty in Iraq.

The 34 year-old lorry driver has been dubbed "Ballistic Midge" following the number of times he has been called to "bomb alert" alarms during his six-month tour of duty with the East and West Riding Regiment in Basrah, Southern Iraq.

Dave, from Denholme said: "I don't know why, but whenever I am on duty there seems to be an incident. Every team has to be on this duty, but some of the lads have hardly been out on an alert.

"I have been to six or seven IED (improvised explosive device) incidents and other rapid response calls and the lads have given me this nickname.

"I have been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things. But it is a good feeling to know that we are helping to keep the peace and help the people of Basrah."

The father of three is one of 114 TA soldiers from Yorkshire and the Tyne Tees area -- including 12 from the Drill Hall at Keighley -- who are based at Basrah Airport with the specially-formed Normandy Company. It is the only entire TA Company in Iraq.

The troops are on a rota, ranging from guard duty to providing security, and being members of the Quick Response Force or the Incident Response Team.

Dave had a special message for his partner Jo-Anne Noble and his three children, Scott, 16, Bethan, 12, and Conner, four: "Missing you all and I can't wait to get back home."

He explained the job of the four-man teams was to secure the scenes of reported IED incidents while specialist Weapons Intelligence Section officers and bomb disposal experts dealt with the device, as well as taking photos and collecting evidence.

Most of the devices are made from armament left over from the Iran-Iraq war, ranging from rockets to shells.

Explained Dave: "Unexploded ordnance is easy to come by. As time goes by the insurgents are getting more sophisticated so we have to stay one step ahead."

Another member of the QRF team is Lance Corporal Mark Short, 25, of Oakworth, who is commander of a four-man team.

In another part of the camp there's an exclusive "taxi firm" dubbed "Bas Cabs".

Those on duty in that section provide secure transport between the camp, airport and headquarters.

Corporal Jaymes Smirthwaite, 27, of Oakworth, is a team commander and acting sergeant with the team. Back home he is a motorcycle policeman based in Manchester.

Jaymes and his wife Angela have two sons, Callum, three, and George who is 18-months-old.

He said: "Angela and my family are proud of me. Providing secure cover can be a stressful task."

Insurgents have now stopped targeting "ordinary squaddies". Instead they concentrate on higher ranking officers and dignitaries -- such as those guarded by the "Bas Cabs" teams.