Troops based at Swanton Morley are to be the first in the British Army to make use of a �19million upgrade to tanks they will be using in Afghanistan later this year.

Troops based at Swanton Morley are to be the first in the British Army to make use of a �19million upgrade to tanks they will be using in Afghanistan later this year.

The Light Dragoons, based at Robertson Barracks in the village, will be the first to start training in the first batch of more than one hundred enhanced light tanks early next month, ahead of their overseas deployment in the spring.

The British Army CRV(T) vehicles, used for scouting out the enemy, have been given a �19million overhaul by BAE Systems to provide them with a state-of-the-art motorsport-designed engine cooling system to cope with conditions in Afghanistan.

This was carried out under an 'urgent operational requirement', according to the MoD.

Three years of work was crammed into one year in order to get the tanks ready.

Work included a number of other upgrades to boost the performance and reliability of the vehicles, including increasing the engine power.

Lt Col Martin Fenn, environmental mitigation UOR team leader, said: 'A new high-efficiency radiator and charge air cooler comes from the motorsport world and is a major improvement on earlier systems.

'This package of enhancements to CVR(T)'s capability is urgently required and eagerly awaited by troops in Afghanistan.'

Capt Tim Badham of The Light Dragoons said: 'We are looking forward to the increased speed, power, endurance, and greater suitability to the harsh desert environment, that this vehicle provides.

'This will allow us to operate even more effectively in our role as armoured reconnaissance."

Spartans, Scimitars and other army support vehicles took a trip on Dereham's Mid Norfolk Railway yesterday on their way from Robertson Barracks to the Castle Martin training area in south Wales.

A number of Light Dragoons will join the vehicles for 10 to 12 days of training preparing them for deployment.