Our latest rummage in the Advertiser's archives has dug up this great story from 15 years ago this week – as the Royal Navy declared war not on another country, but on the persistent pest that was, and is, the Faslane midge.

Here's how we reported the news in the Advertiser on August 26, 2004...

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GUARDS at Faslane have taken steps to deal with one of their most fearsome enemies — the midge.

They’ve employed the latest technology to fight the scourge by getting themselves a midge magnet.

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The machine, which tricks midges by pumping out carbon dioxide mimicking human breathing, will sit at the entrance gates to HM Naval Base Clyde to keep the biting pests away from the guards’ box.

The midge magnet can clear an area the size of a football pitch, killing up to a million midges in a night.

A spokesperson for the Royal Navy told the Advertiser: “This isn’t a new problem. There has been a naval base at Faslane since the 1940s and generations of midges have feasted on the guards year in, year out.

“They just seem to know that the guards are always there and can’t get away.”

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He continued: “Everyone at the base has tremendous respect for the way in which the Ministry of Defence guards go about their duties, all year round.

“But it has to be said that when the midges are at their most aggressive, their attacks are worse than any snow or rain.

“This new Midge Magnet could be the answer to their prayers.”