Troops 'facing helicopter shortage'

Only half the Apache helicopter gunships with the force are working, while just 70% of the Chinook transport helicopters are available, according to the Daily Telegraph.

At the same time, the newspaper reported, just 16 of the 96 promised new armoured vehicles have been delivered. Prime Minister Tony Blair had previously promised that British commanders in the lawless Helmand province would get all the equipment they needed.

However, the newspaper said that the shortage of Chinooks meant that in one recent incident a British garrison was down to its last 200 mortar rounds because there were no helicopters available to re-supply it.

Last week, a member of the Royal Family, the Duke of Gloucester, was said to have been forced to cancel a visit to meet troops fighting in the frontline because there were no Apaches available.

The lack of armoured vehicles meant that combat engineers were forced to carry heavy loads of high explosives in lightly armed lorries, despite the threat of mines and rockets, the paper said.

The British were even reported to have resorted to "scrounging" vehicles from the small Estonian contingent serving with them in Helmand.

The Ministry of Defence acknowledged the importance of helicopters to the mission in Afghanistan and said that more were on the way.

A spokeswoman said: "Our military commanders have the helicopters required to provide combat and medical support for our troops in combat. These helicopters have proved vital to the success of our operation in Afghanistan which is why we are spending £230 million making 14 additional aircraft for deployment over the next two years."

She added: "There is no shortage of combat fighting vehicles in Afghanistan. We are part of a coalition and so we share assets".