Afghanistan

Repatriation of two British soldiers

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The bodies of two British soldiers, killed in an explosion in Afghanistan six days before they were due to return home, will be flown back to the UK today.

38-year-old Major Matthew Collins, from Backwell in Somerset, and 28-year-old Lance Sergeant Mark Burgan, from Liverpool, were killed last week when their vehicle was caught in a blast from an IED.

The men both served with 1st Battalion The Irish Guards.

Their commanding officer said their loss was "a devastating blow" and that "they epitomised what it meant to be a member of this family regiment".

The men will be flown into RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, where private ceremonies will be held for their families before a cortege passes through nearby Wootton Bassett.

Hundreds of people are expected to join their families and members of the Royal British Legion as they line the high street to pay tribute to the soldiers.

The two men were returning to base from an operation, aimed at disrupting insurgent groups in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

On Friday their families paid tribute to their loved ones.

Major Collins' family said: "Not only a soldier but a caring husband, devoted father to Freya and Charlie, caring son, wonderful brother and friend to many. We will all miss him and remember him always."

Lance Sergeant Burgan's wife Leanne said: "I am so honoured to be Mark's wife. I will always love my hero.

"Mark was an extremely proud Irish Guardsman, dad, husband, brother and son. He will forever be in our hearts."