DURING the past year an army regiment and Tetbury have been forging a bright new relationship.

AS part of this new partnership, townsfolk have put together gift boxes for soldiers from 29 Regiment serving in Afghanistan and a medals ceremony for the soldiers took place in the town.

On September 24, at the Priory Nursing Home in Tetbury, this relationship was further cemented when the staff from the council gave officers from the regiment a framed picture of soldiers at the medals parade.

In return, officers from the regiment gave mayor of Tetbury, Sandra Ball a print of the soldiers tour of Afghanistan and an official plaque.

A copy of the plaque will be made up and then it will hang in the Priory Nursing home, a place where the soldiers and residents have spent time together and exchanged stories.

Mrs Ball, who also works as an administrator full time at the Priory, said: “It has provided a wonderful link for our residents with the outside world, to see young people and talk to them and hear their stories.”

The trading of gifts was made as part of a coffee morning at the nursing home, which raised £180 for charity Macmillan Cancer Support.