A WARRINGTON soldier has been chilling out in the Arctic after a week long exercise in frozen Canada.

Former Padgate High pupil Lance Halliwell, aged 21, has been part of Exercise Frozen Crane, teaching troops survival skills in extreme conditions.

Lance, a private with 5 Airborne Brigade Logistic Battalion based in Aldershot, was one of 120 men on the training mission to Goose Bay.

Temperatures plummeted to -59C, with troops parachuting onto a frozen lake before being taught how to build shelters and ice fish.

Despite the freezing cold, Lance thoroughly enjoyed the manoeuvres. He said: "It was an excellent exercise and a great way to start 1998.

"We parachuted into the 120 knot slipstream from just 800 feet onto Gosling Lake. It was covered by five foot of solid ice but there was so much snow, the landing was really soft," he said.

Now Lance is hoping for a posting to sunny Cyprus to defrost from his Arctic adventure.

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