The Hull Daily Mail has scored a win in its campaign to secure safe transport for UK troops in Iraq.

The Troops in Peril campaign was launched after the death of a local soldier, who was driving a lightly armoured Land Rover when it was destroyed by a string of roadside bombs.

Some soldiers are now travelling in 21-ton Mastiff vehicles instead, which are being used routinely for the first time.

More than 300 people have signed a petition on the Downing Street website to get the Land Rovers replaced by Mastiffs. It also calls for the soft-top Land Rovers to be withdrawn from hot-spots in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Mail is still campaigning for the full delivery of more than 100 Mastiffs to troops – but the Ministry of Defence won’t say how many or where they are deployed because of operational sensitivity.