Bodies of soldiers returned home

HUNDREDS of people today turned out to pay their respects to two soldiers killed in Afghanistan - including one from the Westcountry - as their bodies were returned to British soil.

Trooper Joshua Hammond, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, was killed in a blast which hit his Viking armoured vehicle near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Wednesday.

Tpr Hammond, who was 18 years old and from Plymouth, was killed along with Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe.

Lt Col Thorneloe, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was the highest ranking Army officer to be killed since the Falklands War.

Both men were flown into RAF Lyneham, in Wiltshire, at 11.05am this morning on board a C-17 Globemaster, where a private ceremony for close relatives was held in a chapel.

As has become tradition, the coffins, adorned with Union Jack flags, were driven to the nearby town of Wootton Bassett for a memorial procession.

Under overcast skies and heavy showers, members of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment lined the streets of the town alongside Royal British Legion veterans, shopkeepers and residents to pay tribute to the fallen men.

For the full story see Tuesday's Western Morning News.