Soldiers killed in Helmand 'a heavy blow'

Friends and family paid tribute today to four British servicemen who died on one of the grimmest days for British forces in Afghanistan.

Acting Lance Corporal Paul Upton, 31, Corporal Tom Gaden, 24, and Rifleman Jamie Gunn, 21, all from 1st Battalion The Rifles, were killed when a bomb struck their Land Rover on Wednesday.

On the same day, Royal Marine Michael Laski, 21, from 45 Commando, died in hospital in the UK from wounds suffered fighting insurgents in Afghanistan on Monday.

The three soldiers, who were part of a team training Afghan forces, were killed in Gereshk district in Helmand Province on a routine escort operation.

Their deaths took the number of fatalities suffered by 1 Rifles in Afghanistan to seven in just over two months.

Lieutenant Colonel Ian Blewett, Regimental Colonel of The Rifles, described the loss of Cpl Gaden, from Taunton, Rifleman Gunn, from Monmouth, and L/Cpl Upton, from Looe, Cornwall, as a "heavy blow".

He said: "[They] were outstanding soldiers and fine men."