British soldiers fighting in Afghanistan have been deluged with parcels from wellwishers back home, many of whom addressed their gifts simply “to a soldier”.

Long-serving Army figures have been overwhelmed by the flood of parcels and letters which they say have boosted morale for more than 7,000 personnel who face Christmas in a dangerous war zone thousands of miles from their families in Britain.

Sacks of parcels have been pouring into Afghanistan at a rate of 700 a day, forcing the military to hire two civilian helicopters to deliver all the mail to the troops and challenging helicopter loadmasters to find ways of delivering the sacks to forward operating bases along with ammunition and supplies.

Staff Sergeant Stephen Wild, from Warminster, Wiltshire, was one of the soldiers put on special duty sorting the mail. He said: “It’s the first time in 18 years in the Army that I have ever seen anything like it. We are really grateful for the goodwill of people at home – this is a huge morale boost.”

This year the Royal Mail waived charges to deliver post to the military’s sorting office in Mill Hill, London, after General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff, challenged them to do so.

From Mill Hill the post is taken to RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, then flown by Hercules transport aircraft to Kandahar and on to Camp Bastion, where it is sorted. Chinook helicopters then deliver it to soldiers in desert outposts that face daily attack from the Taleban.

Snacks, cakes, toiletries, puzzles and books have been enclosed in the parcels, many of which are wrapped as Christmas gifts. Thousands more cards have been received. A typical one simply said: “With thanks for all you do from a lady in Cornwall.” Another wished troops a “Merry Christmas from the staff, parents and children of Town Field Primary School in Doncaster”.

One wellwisher even sent a cheque for £1,000 with a note requesting that it be spent on “the boys for Christmas”. Major Richard Slack, of B Squadron The King’s Royal Hussars, said: “The problem is that in the desert there isn’t anything to spend the money on. We’ll probably put it in a fund for wounded soldiers.”

The deluge has caused logistics problems, especially because helicopters have been busy in the last fortnight with the recapture of the town of Musa Qala from the Taleban.

The demands of war have meant that Christmas Day will be a normal working day for most of the 3,000 personnel at Camp Bastion, a sprawling base in the Helmand desert, although soldiers were preparing to make the best of it. Tents were decorated with tinsel and Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybodywas playing in the cookhouse yesterday as soldiers ate their meals while guns boomed out from a nearby range. No alcohol is allowed on the base, and the only festive drink on offer in the coffee bar is Santa’s tipple, a strawberry-flavoured ice slush drink.

Major Slack, who said his men had been in fights with the Taleban on 50 of the last 52 days in Helmand, said: “Getting all this post doesn’t necessarily mean that people at home understand what it is like out here. But it does show how much support there is for us.”

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