Two brothers have told how they became the first UK events company to enter Iraq after the war.

Brothers Dean and Alex Ford, of Optix, which is based in Battle, saw off competition to deliver an experimential campaign for a leading worldwide media agency in the Middle Eastern country.

Baghdad was the original destination until conflict forced it to be changed to Erbil, the Kurdish capital of Iraq.

Optix produced a 12-metre air-supported structure which was used by a media agency for experiential and promotional events.

The brothers were stationed in Erbil to oversee transition and to train local staff on construction procedures.

Alex said: “It wasn’t what we were expecting at all.

“The older people tend to be labourers and the younger generation are the people in charge, it’s completely opposite to what it’s like here.

“I think they view the younger generation as being more intelligent.”

Alex said he and his brother always felt safe in Erbil.

He said: “I felt that people seemed to trust us more because we were British, some people were happy that we were there and very welcoming and others weren’t, but overall it was a good experience.

“The majority of people we met were very friendly and were keen to talk to us about our heritage and practise their English.

“The Kurdish people are very peaceful and are anti-war so we always felt safe.

“There’s a lot of wealth in the region with it being an oil-rich country, it almost reminds you of what Doha and Dubai would have been like 20 years ago.”

Since returning from Iraq, Optix has been working on projects a little closer to home, from pop-up conferences to large-scale corporate events and private parties.

But the brothers are still open to overseas projects.

Alex said: “We’ve been contacted about doing work on an inflatable structure for the Singapore Grand Prix, we’re always looking to network and get our name out there.

“There’s also a chance that we might be called up to dismantle the structure we built in Iraq and we’d definitely be up for going back.

“If there is a chance that we could find a local partner out there that we can trust then there could be the possibility of opening an office there.”