Family gathers in grief as lost soldier returns

A brave nine-year-old gave a final salute to the man who was like a father to him as the Midland soldier's body returned home from Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Richard Brandon, aged 24, was killed in Gereshk, Helmand Province, this month when the vehicle he was travelling in hit a roadside bomb.

After arriving at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, L/Cpl Brandon, from Kidderminster, was driven through Wootton Bassett where hundreds lined the streets in tribute.

In the crowd were his fiancee, Emma-Jayne Webster, who held their daughter Kaitlin, three, in her arms as the cortege passed by.

L/Cpl Brandon also leaves behind Emma-Jayne's children Martyn, aged 12, and Liam.

Flowers were thrown on to the hearse as the coffin was driven by.

Ms Webster, 27, said after the ceremony: "He always said death was a fact of life and life goes on and he would expect me to carry on with life."