Shot East Yorkshire soldier 'carried to safety under gunfire'

Pte Gregg Stone was shot during a mission to rescue an Afghan policeman

Colleagues of an East Yorkshire soldier shot in Afghanistan tried to save his life by carrying him to safety while under gunfire, an inquest has heard.

Pte Gregg Stone, 20, from Atwick, was killed during a hostage rescue mission in Helmand province in June.

The inquest at Hull Coroners' Court heard that Pte Stone collapsed after being shot through the cheek.

The coroner ruled he had been unlawfully killed and commended a friend who carried him across a river.

The married soldier, from 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, and his colleagues had entered a compound where a kidnapped Afghan policeman was being held by insurgents.

But they came under heavy fire from enemy troops hiding nearby as they made their getaway.

'Happened so fast'

The inquest was told he was taken to a waiting helicopter and airlifted to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

His friend Pte Lewis Murphy, who was serving alongside Pte Stone, was commended by the coroner after telling the inquest how he carried his fallen colleague across the river.

"It happened so fast," he said. "The next thing we were told was 'man down'."

Pte Murphy said he took Pte Stone to the banks of a nearby river, adding: "We tried to get Gregg across the river without a stretcher.

"I just picked Gregg up and started running to the helicopter."

He said two other soldiers also helped as he got closer to the aircraft.

The coroner, Professor Paul Marks called the inquest an "extremely sad case" and praised the courage of the soldiers who took part in the mission.

Prof Marks said he would write to the commanding officer of the soldiers who "risked their lives to save a fallen comrade" to acknowledge their bravery.