A plane carrying the bodies of seven British servicemen killed in Afghanistan has landed in the UK.
The bodies of Sergeant Steven Darbyshire, Lance Corporal Michael Taylor and Marine Paul Warren, all of 40 Commando Royal Marines, were repatriated at RAF Lyneham, in Wiltshire.
They were joined by the bodies of Lance Corporal David Ramsden, of 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton, Private Alex Isaac and Private Douglas Halliday, all of 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment.
The C-17 Globemaster touched down at 3.05pm and the Union Flag-draped coffins were carried from the plane.
A private ceremony will be held at the base before the cortege passes through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett, where it has become tradition for hundreds of people to line the high street in respect.
Sergeant Darbyshire, 35, from Wigan, known as “Darbs”, was killed by small arms fire during a fight with insurgent forces while on patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand province on June 23. He leaves behind his partner Kate and their two young sons Ryan and Callum.
Lance Corporal Taylor 30, from Rhyl, was killed during an exchange of fire with insurgent forces in Sangin, Helmand while manning one of the sangars in the patrol base on June 22. He leaves behind his partner Sonia and their three children Ethan, Wesley and Charlton.
Marine Warren, 23, from Leyland, Lancashire, was fatally injured in an explosion when the patrol base airport lounge was attacked by insurgents on June 21.
Lance Corporal Ramsden, 26, from Leeds, Colour Sergeant Horton, 34, from Runcorn, Cheshire, Private Isaac, 20, from the Wirral, and Private Halliday were killed when their vehicle rolled into a waterway near Gereshk, Helmand, on June 23.
The soldiers were part of a Police Advisory Team, travelling as part of a two-vehicle convoy tasked to attend an incident at a nearby check point.
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