The five members of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment died along with a sixth soldier from the 1st Battalion The Duke Of Lancaster’s Regiment in Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on Tuesday night. Tearful tributes were paid to the five at their barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire, while prayers were being said at a church service in the town. A candle lit when 90 members of the battalion left for their tour of duty on Valentine’s Day was burning bright outside this evening. Flowers for the fallen: A soldier pays his respects in Warminster (Picture: PA) The rest of the troops will leave next month and the candle will not be extinguished until they are all home safely in November. Three-year-old Olivia-Mai McLaughlin, whose father, John, begins his tour next month, was among those who laid flowers at the barracks. Her mother, Stacey, 21, sobbed as she said: ‘They are true heroes. This loss will be felt badly by all the soldiers out there and the families back home. I just hope John comes back home safely when he goes out there.’ The men were carrying out a routine patrol when their Warrior personnel carrier was hit by the blast. Their bodies and the damaged Warrior were being recovered today. Brig Patrick Sanders, commander of Task Force Helmand, described the incident as ‘a one-off’ against the trend of improved security in the region. The deaths means 404 British servicemen and women have now died in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001.
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