British military operation in North ends at midnight

The British Army's 38-year military operation in the North is due to formally end at midnight tonight when the PSNI takes full responsibility for security.

At the height of the Troubles, there were 27,000 British soldiers stationed in the North.

However, that has been steadily reduced since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and, from tomorrow, just 5,000 soldiers will remain.

The British government says this represents normal peacetime levels and is in line with the rest of the UK.

A total of 300,000 soldiers have served in the North since 1969, 763 of whom lost their lives during the 30 years of violence that followed.

The last soldier to be killed was Stephen Restorick, who was shot by a sniper in south Armagh 10 years ago.