THE Churchdown Royal British Legion has backed calls from Paddy Ashdown to fast track the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.
Lord Ashdown is urging Britain to pull troops out of the country as quickly as "decently" possible and says the campaign is "not worth the life of one more soldier".
Those thoughts are echoed by Norman Auld, a 93-year-old former soldier with the Royal Engineers who now represents the Churchdown RBL.
"The sooner our lads are out of Afghanistan the better," he said. "Lord Ashdown is right when he says too much life has been lost.
"We have tried to install democracy, but it is very difficult and the worry is the Taliban will take over again once we leave and it will be left in a right mess.
"I have been a soldier and I know what these lads and lasses are going through. They need to come home."
Lord Ashdown's calls come as Government plans are finalised to exit Afghanistan by 2014. The campaign has cost 438 British lives.