THERE were plenty of smiles at this time in 2009 as the families of servicemen and women welcomed home their heroes at HM Naval Base Clyde.

Here's how we covered the story a decade ago...

**********

FOR the sailors, it has been eight long months – for the ships themselves an incredible two and a half years.

But HMS Blyth and HMS Ramsey are finally home... and were welcomed by hundreds of flag-waving loved ones.

More than 200 people lined the quayside on Tuesday morning as the two Royal Navy mine hunters returned from an extended tour of the Gulf to their home port at HM Naval Base Clyde.

What started as an experiment – sending the ships out long term and rotating the crews by air – has been hailed as a resounding success.

The ships are part of the Faslane Flotilla and Captain Steve Garrett, the Captain of the Flotilla, said: “I think it is important for people to realise what an important role these small ships have, despite their size. They do a tremendous job.

“They are made of glass reinforced plastic so that they don’t trigger today’s sophisticated mines and can therefore go where other ships cannot, clearing the seaways so that the bigger ships of the Fleet can go in. From bow to stern they are jam-packed with state-of-the-art technology – and to keep that technology working for two and a half years, five thousand miles from home, is an engineering achievement of the highest order. The crews have worked extremely hard.”