A hundred soldiers who spent the night helping protect communities from rising river waters are heading for Afghanistan in a month, their commanders said tonight.
The army signallers joined firefighters, police and Environment Agency and council workers as they fought to safeguard York and the village of Cawood in the early hours of this morning.
First to be called out were 30 soldiers from 2nd Signal Regiment, based in Fulford, York, who filled and laid thousands of sandbags in Peckitt Street in the city as the River Ouse rose to almost record levels.
British Fire and Rescue Service search around flooded side streets with an inflatable dinghy after the river Ouse burst it's banks flowing through the city of York
Another 70 soldiers were requested to assist the flood efforts in Cawood, which is near Selby, as more than 4,000 sandbags were filled and laid overnight to support the existing flood defences.
Major David Orr, who commanded the military team at the site, said: "We were working together with the other agencies near the Cawood swing bridge and 500 metres either side of it.
"There were quite a lot of properties at risk and also a pub - and you don't want to risk a pub flooding.
"The sandbags were already there in pallets and we placed them, but some of the locations were quite difficult to get to and, in some places, the lads carried the sandbags quite a distance.
"For us, this was the last day of training before we deploy to Afghanistan and, after a year of training, this was something different. We very much enjoyed the opportunity to help the local community and they made us feel very welcome."
An army spokeswoman said the regiment is due to deploy to Afghanistan for a six-month tour at the end of next month.
The soldiers will be working at several locations within Helmand Province providing telecommunications, IT and secure communications.
Lieutenant Colonel Colin Vaudin, commanding officer of 2 Signal Regiment, said: "We are very much part of the local community in North Yorkshire and were happy to join the effort as extra pairs of hands helping out with the sandbagging at what has been a very difficult time."
He said the soldiers returned to barracks at about 6am today.
York's signallers also helped out during the floods in 2000 and were subsequently awarded the freedom of the city.