The Army is investigating claims British troops in Latvia were involved in brawl as part of a plot by Russia to smear UK forces.

Soldiers have been in the Baltic nation for a two-week training exercise, which comes amid heightened tensions between the West and Russia.

However, it has been reported that two soldiers with the Grenadier Guards were targeted with violence by a local gang as they ate at a McDonalds restaurant in the Latvian capital Riga.

The Army is investigating claims British troops in Latvia were involved in brawl as part of a plot by Russia to smear UK forces. Pictured are British troops taking part in a training exercise in Latvia on Monday

According to the Telegraph, the brawl was captured on camera and when the fighting finished, a Latvian accompanying the two British servicemen followed the film crew and saw them go to a media outlet known to be pro-Russian.

And a source says the reported attack could be have been part of an attempt to portray British troops as hooligans in Russia.

They told the newspaper: 'Our assessment is that this is clearly a set up: ‘Lets go and make these guys look like thugs and film it.’”

Meanwhile an Army spokeswoman told MailOnline that they were investigating the incident.

It has been reported that two soldiers with the Grenadier Guards were targeted with violence by a local gang as they ate at a McDonalds restaurant in the Latvian capital Riga, pictured

She said: 'We are aware of an incident involving two soldiers in Riga.

'The circumstances are being investigated and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.'

News of the brawl comes as Britain is sending tanks, drones and 800 troops to neighbouring Estonia as part of the biggest military build-up on Russia's borders since the Cold War.

The soldiers will be sent to the Eastern European country and will be joined by forces from Denmark and France, according to Defence Secretary Michael Fallon.

Meanwhile earlier this week, the head of MI5 warned that Russia’s increasingly aggressive behaviour is a threat to the stability of the UK.

News of the brawl comes as Britain is sending tanks, drones and 800 troops to neighbouring Estonia as part of the biggest military build-up on Russia's borders since the Cold War. Pictured are British troops in Latvia on Monday

Soldiers of all nationalities gather at the Adazi military training ground in Latvia. Troops from Baltic states as well as the UK, US, Canada and Germany are taking part in the exercise

Andrew Parker, the director general of the home intelligence service, gave the first interview by a serving spy chief in 107 years, and took aim at Moscow for escalating tensions at a time when the West was fighting Islamist extremists.

He told the Guardian that Russia had plenty of spies still working in Britain but that the difference between today and the Cold War era was that it was also using the weapon of cyber warfare.

Russia was targeting military secrets, industrial projects and economic information, he said.

However, this prompted the Kremlin to hit back and said there was no evidence to support the claims.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'Those words to do correspond to the reality.

'We do not agree with them, and claims regarding cyber-attacks we have already commented on.

'No-one has yet given any evidence so we cannot consider claims that are not founded on evidence.