Regiment troops had to be called out this weekend to quell a riot in Southampton.

By noon on Saturday, a mob numbering close to 100 people had gathered around a derelict building and were refusing to disperse.

Shortly after 12.30 p.m., soldiers from the Regiment's Training Company -- "the new boys'' who attended boot camp in January -- arrived at the scene.

Clad in flameproof overalls and riot helmets and armed with riot shields, federal riot guns (FRG's), rifles and batons, the new soldiers were organised by their commanding officers.

The Naval Annex scene was a controlled set-up of a major riot to help the Regiment soldiers train for crowd control.

Governor Lord Waddington was present to witness the training and joked: "If I get hit by a brick then the exercise has failed.'' A base line was established behind the six-foot tall riot shields and the soldiers began moving toward the rioters -- made up of soldiers from the Regiment's B Company.

Huddled behind the line of shields were soldiers armed with FRG's that fire rubber bullets -- or teargas -- up to a distance of 60 feet.

Further back were soldiers armed with rifles who monitored the roof tops, looking for a possible ambush from on-high and behind them came the reserves.

As the soldiers rounded the corner near the building to enter the street which ran along its side, all hell broke loose.

Two cars had been set on fire and the thick, acrid smoke filled the air, reducing visibility and making it difficult to breathe.

Rioters began to hurl whatever they could lay their hands on at the soldiers who huddled together tighter behind their plastic barricade and began inching forward as the FRG gunners began firing rubber bullets to push the rabble backward.

Molotov cocktails flew through the air and crashed at the soldiers' feet, setting fire to tyres and puddles of oil and gas that lay in street.

The troops continued pushing forward and soon the rioters were on the run.

The hail of rocks, steel bolts, engine parts and even fluorescent light tubes grew thinner and eventually stopped as the soldiers seized control of the situation.

Training Company was put through their paces in the morning, followed by A Company in the afternoon.

Before either group was put through the riot scenario, they were trained in different aspects of crowd control.

These included establishing the baseline, dealing with small groups of troublemakers while on patrol and arrest techniques.

British Army officer Major David Napier -- who is in Bermuda for two years to help train the Regiment -- said they did well during the training which was far more realistic than soldiers received in Britain.

The soldiers were trained to look up to watch out for what was being thrown at them and to use the FRG's to push rioters back, creating room to advance.

Another important principle, was using the minimum force necessary to stop the situation.

The idea was that in a riot situation, the Regiment would reply with equal force to what was being used against it, but sustain it for a longer period of time and wear out the opposition.

Photos by David Skinner LOOK OUT -- Fully clad in protective equipment, troops keep an eye out for bottles and other missiles as they practise riot control at the Naval Annex.

CATAPULT -- "Rioters'' lob tyres and throw rocks at advancing Regiment soldiers.

FORWARD HO! -- Regiment soldiers advance past burning cars and billowing smoke.