A British soldier killed by a suspected roadside bomb in Afghanistan has been named as Corporal Jason Barnes.

Cpl Barnes, 25, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, attached to 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, died on Tuesday.

His wife, Diana. She said: "He was a loving husband and will be sadly missed."

He died after being hit by an explosion in the Kajaki area of Helmand in southern Afghanistan.

Another soldier was also caught in the blast but survived.

A third soldier was hurt moments earlier when a mine went off as the patrol exchanged fire with Taliban fighters.

Cpl Barnes's colleagues and senior officers paid tribute to a hard-working soldier with a "bright future" who always went out of his way to help.

His company commander, Major Grant Haywood, praised his "boundless energy and selfless commitment".

He said: "He was not one to be left behind when there was an operation to be conducted. In his primary role as an armourer, he was first class, never one to call time when there was a job to be done.

"He will be remembered here as an individual with natural charm, dry wit and a real zest for life.

"He will be truly missed by all here and our thoughts are with his wife, family and friends."

Lieutenant Colonel Joe O'Sullivan said: "He died helping others when he could have taken an easier path, and in doing so demonstrated the commitment and bloody-minded determination that runs so deeply through the battalion."

Cpl Barnes joined the Army at the age of 16 in 1999, choosing to specialise in maintaining weapons as a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers armourer.

He completed his training in 2001 and served in the Balkans and Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan with 2 Para earlier this year.

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