A SUSSEX soldier was lucky to escape being blinded after a brick was hurled through the windscreen of his truck in Macedonia.

Andrew Ackers, 24, whose family lives in Portslade, was targeted by Serb sympathisers angry at Nato bombing attacks.

L-Cpl Ackers, who has been in the Royal Signals for six years, had been helping to build a refugee camp at Brazda.

He was cut by flying glass when the brick, thrown by local youths, shattered the windscreen of his truck.

His father, Rod, said it was lucky he wasn't blinded by glass fragments which narrowly missed his eye.

L-Cpl Ackers, an ex-Portslade Community College pupil, was treated by medics and resumed his duties within hours.

He joined up at the age of 18 after working at Tesco's in Portslade and has completed two tours of duty in Bosnia.

Rod, who served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, said: "His letters tell of the harrowing plight of those poor people who are being systematically murdered and expelled from their homeland.

"British troops in Macedonia are being attacked by the local population, who openly sympathise with the Serbs."

Rod added: "I am proud of my 22 years service in the Army and that my son is carrying on the tradition.

"British soldiers can hold their heads high among the world's armies, who recognise them for their extreme professionalism in trying and severe conditions.

"The compassion shown to the defenceless, as shown daily in Macedonia, is unrivalled."

Do you have a relative serving in the Balkans? Write to Paul Holden at Argus House, Crowhurst Road, Hollingbury, Brighton, BN1 8AR, with an up-to-date photograph of the person concerned.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.