Fewer Britons calling for Afghanistan troop withdrawal - poll

(Corrects number of British soldiers killed in para 5)

By Avril Ormsby

LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of people took to London's streets on Saturday demanding that British troops be brought home from Afghanistan but an opinion poll showed fewer Britons were calling for an immediate return.

The YouGov poll, to be broadcast on Channel 4 News, showed that while 62 percent of Britons wanted British troops home immediately or within the next year or so, the percentage of those making those demands had remained static or even dropped during the past two years.

Those wanting British troops returned in the near-term remained static at 37 percent while the number wanting an immediate withdrawal dropped three points to 25 percent, with a three percent margin of error.

The drop is surprising bearing in mind the rising number of British casualties in the eight-year, U.S.-led campaign against Taliban insurgents, with the bloodiest months occurring in the run-up to presidential elections that were found to have been deeply flawed.

A total of 222 British troops have been killed there since 2001.

The military campaign has also been blighted by a public spat between the government and some military figures over troop levels and equipment.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said this month an extra 500 troops could be sent to Afghanistan, boosting the total to 9,500, may be reassured by the poll.