British troops soldiers sent to Estonia to bolster local forces against the threat from Russia have been involved in a mass punch-up with locals in a row about a woman.
News website ERR reported that eight and 10 soldiers had gone to a fast-food restaurant in the Estonian city of Tapa when trouble flared after a group of local men objected to the soldiers chatting to a woman.
The brawl then spilled out onto the street.
Military police were called, but by the time they arrived local police were on the scene and the the fight was over, with both sides refusing to press charges.
Witnesses said that one local man was in handcuffs.
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The head of the local Police and Border Guard Board Patrol confirmed they were called out on Saturday.
The soldiers were stationed at the Tapa military base which is the home to the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup, which is currently led by the UK although a part of the Estonian Defence Force’s 1 Infantry Brigade.
The NATO group has been sent to the base “to send a signal to Russia”.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm that there has been an incident involving UK service persons in Tapa.
“It is being investigated, and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
It is reported that no one was seriously injured as a result of the fight on Saturday.
It is also not the first incident involving Allied troops.
Local media carried reports over the past year of badly behaved off-duty soldiers involved in incidents at a local lake, also while travelling on the Tallinn-Rakvere train and in a Rakvere pub, with disciplinary measures placed against those involved but no legal action.
The MoD confirmed it had launched an investigation but refused to comment further on the incident.
