Six British soldiers were seized and thrown off a train just 20 miles from the Russian border over claims they were drunk and disorderly.

The troops were seized over the weekend by local police in Jogeva, near Estonia’s border with Russia after complaints from passengers over allegedly rowdy behavior.

Police were called after rail staff asked them repeatedly to stop intimidating the civilians by being loud, and it is claimed, aggressive.

Witnesses said the soldiers appeared to be drunk, MIRROR reports.

After being ejected off the train the troops were then handed over to NATO military police and are facing disciplinary action.

There are hundreds of British troops in Estonia as part of a NATO battlegroup – most from the 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment.

This issue comes amid fears Russian intelligence agents could use badly-behaved British troops to discredit the NATO operation on the border.

Russia expert Bruce Jones, of defence intelligence firm Janes, said: “A serious incident could be constructed deliberately by Putin’s operatives.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “An investigation is under way.”

Last month British troops soldiers sent to Estonia to bolster local forces against the threat from Russia were 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.

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.