The bodies of two British soldiers - including the most senior Army officer to be killed in decades - have been repatriated.

Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, died last Wednesday when his Viking armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.

Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, also died in the explosion.

The C-17 Globemaster transporting their coffins landed at RAF Lyneham, in Wiltshire, at 11.05am.

A private memorial for close relatives was held at a chapel on site before the coffins passed through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett.

Hundreds of British Legion veterans, shopkeepers and residents lined the streets of the town to pay their respects.

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