A British Army battalion that served in Afghanistan is to receive a special welcome home treat in the form of a fairtrade Easter egg.

Each member of 1st Bn Royal Anglian Regiment will receive a Real Easter Egg, the UK's only religious-themed Easter egg.

The gift is the idea of Army chaplain the Reverend Martin Groves and is being supported by delivery company Circle Express and the Meaningful Chocolate Company, which makes the Real Easter Egg.

Reverend Groves said: "I can think of no better welcome than an Easter egg which has the Bible story on the box and its message of hope and new life. These men, women and their families have sacrificed a great deal to serve their country.

"They know what it means to be in a hard place and it is right that we should say thanks to them in a fun but meaningful way."

David Marshall from the Meaningful Chocolate Company said: "We are delighted to help by making a special batch of our Real Easter Eggs for the troops. Like our other eggs there is an activity pack in the box, it's made from Fairtrade chocolate and we will make a charitable donation for each egg given."

Chris Coffey, from Circle Express said: "We are proud to sponsor the eggs and support our troops. The chaplain asked if we could deliver them in one go and as we specialise in overnight deliveries, we agreed immediately."

The Real Easter Egg was launched in 2011 and is the only chocolate Easter egg on supermarket shelves explaining the Christian meaning of Easter.

This is the first year major supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsbury have agreed to stock the egg.

A share of the profits is given to charity and more than £60,000 will have been donated to Traidcraft Exchange from sales by Easter 2013.