Pipes greet Scots soldiers back from Afghanistan More than 100 Royal Highland Fusiliers were met by their families at the Glencorse Barracks in Penicuik where "my hero daddy" slogans adorned T-shirts, posters and balloons.

As they rushed to hug their loved ones, there was sadness amidst the joy as they remembered Corporal Barry Dempsey, a medic, of Ayrshire, who was killed in August by a roadside bomb laid by the Taliban insurgency.

Fellow medic Lance Corporal Nicola McLeod was all too aware that her first tour of duty in Helmand province was also nearly her last as she recalled how the vehicle she was in hit a mine just minutes after she arrived.

Speaking after an emotional reunion with her mother and fiance, the 22-year-old, the only female among the first group of the regiment to return yesterday, said: "I got blown up after 20 minutes. We went over a roadside bomb. The vehicles are really good and nobody was injured but it was really scary. I feel in a bit of a daze today. It's really good to be back."

Shona McLeod, 39, a student nurse from Glasgow, was overwhelmed when her daughter appeared safe and well. She said: "I was in floods of tears as soon as the buses started coming in. It's my first homecoming and it was very emotional. It's been a traumatic time but I'm very proud of her."

Nearby, three-year-old Dillon McCluskey held aloft a colourful placard declaring "I'm here to pick up my daddy" as he waited patiently in the autumn sunshine to welcome his father back home.

Lance Corporal Jimmy McCluskey, 28, was also met by his wife Alison, 26, and their eight-month-old baby Madison, whom Jimmy has hardly seen since she was born.

Catching up with his wife and children yesterday, he said: "Dillon and Madison have both really grown since I've been away.

"Being away from my family was the worst part, and being back is the best. It was a good tour, although we did lose someone, which was horrible."

Major Nick Abram paid tribute to Cpl Dempsey as the regiment began its staggered return to the Penicuik barracks and said all thoughts were with his widow, Shelly.

He said: "He was part of the lifeblood of the regiment, he was the medic. They are the bravest individuals on the battlefield, putting themselves in the most dangerous positions on the frontline to save lives."

As the remainder of the regiment come home, with the last soldiers due back by the middle of October, he said that the six-month tour had been their toughest for a long time.

He said: "It was the most challenging tour we have had for many a year. The heat is astronomica l, up to 54 degrees. The arduous conditions, the threat of mines, and unfortunately we lost Corp Dempsey.

"We are 90% through the tour and we have still got a lot of people out there. We pray all the rest come home safe."

The major added that operationally, despite the challenges, the tour had been a great success. He stressed that the army's Mastiff armoured vehicles had been crucial in helping to save lives, like that of Lance Corp McLeod.

Sergeant Neil Forrest, 39, who was greeted by tearful wife Eden, 31, was in charge of the 27-ton Mastiffs.

He said: "My job is to look after the vehicles which save the guys' lives. It was a really busy tour, and hard. I just finished in Iraq in June last year."

Asked about his worst experience he said: "The repatriations, when you get the guys who have died and you see the coffins going into the planes."

Sgt Forrest also had some advice for the next Scots soldiers who will head out to Afghanistan.

He said: "Keep your head down and get on with your job. That's what you're there for."