A HERO'S welcome greeted Camelsdale man Daniel Herridge when he arrived home this week from serving on a ship that played a major role in the Iraq conflict.

Daniel, 21, flew in from Bahrain on Tuesday after serving on a Royal Naval minesweeper which led the convoy taking humanitarian aid to Iraq.

A trained diver and Sub Lieutenant on HMS Sandown, Daniel's roles included diving into the treacherous waters to check for mines. On his each of his dives Daniel checked suspicious objects to make sure they were not explosives.He also worked on the ship's bridge monitoring the safety of the convoy's route.

"HMS Sandown was at the front of the convoy bringing in HMS Sir Galahad to Umm Quasr. It was our job to make sure the waters were cleared of mines and it was safe for the other ships to follow us," said Daniel.

The convoy sailed from the northern Persian Gulf up the estuary and river leading to Umm Quasr

Daniel's family including mother and father, Maria and Mark Herridge and his brother and sister, Justin, 24, and Nicole 11, had been anxiously awaiting his return since November. During that time Daniel's ship faced the threat of attack from air and sea.

To celebrate Daniel's safe return, the family decorated their School Road house with banners and balloons. A neighbour made a cake decorated on a nautical theme.

Maria said "We had been expecting him home in March. We mainly stayed in touch with emails."

Daniel said that he had taken great comfort from the regular emails. "I had been in the Gulf since November. Morale on the ship was very good, and we were all behind Tony Blair's decision.

"I think morale only reached a low point when we heard that there were a lot of people protesting against the war. Then we worried what the reaction would be to us back at home. But we ended up having tremendous support from the public," added Daniel.

Among the positive points were the reception the Navy received from the Iraqis and an unexpected reunion with his cousin, fellow sailor, Ben Harwood. Ben was serving on HMS Grimsby and met Daniel in Bahrain.

"I'm pleased to be back at home with my family but I think the war has been worthwhile. All the Iraqi people we met were very pleased to see us out there. We handed out food to the fishermen and lots of people were waving at us from the banks as we sailed up river.

Daniel said that he will be enjoying spending time with his family and enjoying everyday life.

He will then go to Gosport where he will undertake further Naval training in officer safety and warfare. HMS Sandown is expected to return to British shores in June.