Home from Iraq, but it's Robbie's car that got tanked up

Published on Monday 9 June 2008 10:35

WHEN Robbie Morrison left Iraq after a six-month tour of duty he thought he'd seen his last tank for a while.

Having been picked up at Edinburgh Airport by his mum Lynn, the 25-year-old was looking forward to the more conventional surroundings of his Colinton neighbourhood on Saturday.

But he was stunned when he pulled up outside the family home to discover his beloved Ford Fiesta had been decked out to look like a tank by his uncles, who got up at 5am to work on the prank.

Under a welcome home banner they had completely camouflaged his car in green skin, attached a fake gun to the roof and put the number plate 1 RAQ on the front. Robbie, a guardsman with the First Battalion Scots Guards, said he had no idea what was in store.

He spent a lot of his time in Iraq cooped up in a tank, but said this is the first one he has actually been pleased to see.

"My mum had phoned beforehand to say there was a real problem with my car and it was running like a tank," he said. "I was extremely shocked to come into the street and see it like that. My uncles – Alex and Scott Young – are always up to something.

"They've done a good job of it. I kind of need my car but I'll cancel my plans and leave it like this for a bit longer."

Having been stationed in Iraq for six-and-a-half months, he said he was relieved to be home, where he will stay for the next month.

"I've got a holiday to Ibiza planned but apart from that I think I'll just relax and enjoy being left alone," he added. "We were replaced by a whole new regiment and you feel for the guys going in there because you know what they're about to go through, but to be honest you are just relieved to be out of there."

Robbie's mum Lynn, 53, an insurance worker, said she was confident he'd see the funny side of it. "I think he was just glad to find there wasn't in fact a problem with his car," she said. "My brothers spent ages on it and they're both really artistic. It won't be on permanently and he can just peel it off at the end.

"It's great to have him home. You're obviously worried when your son is in a war zone but he did keep in regular touch with us throughout. What he doesn't know is that he's going to be treating me to dinner now."