A soldier was hailed a hero today after wading into the River Severn to help rescue a stranded woman.

Hundreds of people lined the streets as soldiers from the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment paraded through Walsall.

Two hundred troops returned from the frontline in Afghanistan to a rapturous welcome in the Black Country.

Hundreds of people gathered in Lichfield to hail hero soldiers following their return from duty in Afghanistan.

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment have been celebrating their return from Afghanistan.

Civic leaders today issued a rallying cry to people across Staffordshire and the Black Country to come out in force and show support for their soldiers as they mark the end of a tour of duty.

Soldiers from across the Black Country and Staffordshire will take part in a series of homecoming parades to mark the end of their tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Bright lights, gleaming instruments and an audience transfixed by every note – it could be a concert like any other for the 30-strong band of the Mercian Regiment.

Soldiers based at MOD Stafford are being sent to Libya as part of a team advising rebels seeking to topple Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

A Black Country hero soldier whose baby boy was born while he was fighting in Afghanistan delayed his paternity leave so he would not let down his men.