There were emotional scenes last night as 60 Scottish troops were reunited with loved ones in time for Christmas.

Relatives hugged the soldiers from the Royal Scots Borderers (1 Scots) after they arrived back in Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh from their tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Their return came on the day Prime Minister David Cameron said almost 4000 British soldiers – 50% of the current contingent – will leave the conflict over the next year. It paves the way for British troops to end their combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Mr Cameron paid tribute to the soldiers' "incredible work".