Bodies of three soldiers return home from Afghanistan

The bodies of three British soldiers killed in Afghanistan will be brought home today.

Corporal Harvey Holmes of 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment and Sapper Daryn Roy of 21 Engineer Regiment died in explosions earlier this week.

Lance Corporal Barry Buxton, also of 21 Engineer Regiment, died in a road accident.

Their bodies will be flown into RAF Lyneham in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and, after a ceremony, their coffins will be driven through nearby Wootton Bassett.

Cpl Holmes, 22, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, died on Sunday when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off as he provided protection for his patrol while it investigated a compound in Sangin.

His family spoke of his "passion" for the Army in a statement released after his death and said they were extremely proud of the sacrifice the "true hero" had made.

Sapper Roy, 28, originally from Consett, County Durham, was in a convoy in the Nad-e Ali area on Monday when his vehicle was struck by an IED. He was evacuated by helicopter but died of his injuries at the hospital in Camp Bastion.

His family said in a statement they would miss his happy-go-lucky personality and cheeky smile but added: "He loved the Army and he lived his life without regrets."

L/Cpl Buxton, 27, from Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, also died on Monday after a vehicle he was commanding rolled into the Nahr-e Bughra canal, in the Nad-e Ali area, when a road alongside the waterway collapsed.

His wife Emma said in a statement he had been her hero and she would remain "eternally proud" of him.

L/Cpl Buxton's mother Sharon Hudson added that he had been "an inspiration" to the family and his younger brother Gareth, who followed in his footsteps, was serving in Afghanistan when his brother died.