Doncaster soldier Sgt Lee Davidson repatriated to UK

Sgt Davidson was helping train Afghan police officers, the Ministry of Defence said

The body of a soldier from South Yorkshire who was killed in Afghanistan has been repatriated to the UK.

Sgt Lee Davidson, 32, from Thorne, near Doncaster, died on Sunday when his armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand.

His body was flown into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire earlier.

A private ceremony for the family was held at the air base before the body was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

The cortege was escorted at walking pace past the memorial garden in Carterton, where the union jack was hung at half-mast.

'Extremely talented'

Sgt Davidson's body was flown into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire

Sgt Davidson, who was married with two sons, had been helping to train Afghan police officers, the Ministry of Defence said.

The soldier, from the Light Dragoons, was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

An instructor at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Sgt Davidson was described as "diligent and extremely talented".

His wife Samantha, who is pregnant, said he was "the best husband and father".

A book of condolence has been opened at Doncaster Minster.

The number of British military deaths since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001 now stands at 427.