Family pay respects to soldier shot as he protected his comrades

Mourners gathered in Willesden today for the funeral of a soldier shot dead in southern Afghanistan.

Lance Sergeant Dale Alanzo McCallum of 1st Battalion Scots Guards was killed by small arms fire on August 1 during an operation in Lashkar Gah.

The 31-year-old, who was born in Hanover, Jamaica, was leading his men in an operation to provide security to local Afghan nationals.

L/Sgt McCallum, who joined up in 1998 and served three tours in Iraq, was killed as he moved to attack the enemy after his checkpoint came under fire. His comrades said it was something he had done "a hundred times before".

In a statement, his family said: "Dale was a wonderful father, brilliant brother, a loving son. We all loved Dale."