Hundreds Attend Funeral For Dorset Soldier

More than 1,000 people gathered today to pay their respects to a young soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.

Trooper Andrew Howarth, 20, was the third generation of his family to serve in the Queen's Royal Lancers.

More than 700 mourners filled Wimborne Minster for the funeral, while hundreds more stood outside to listen to the service relayed on speakers.

As Trooper Howarth's coffin was driven into Wimborne, the Dorset town came to a standstill. A standard party from the Royal British Legion lined the road outside the Minster as the hearse drove past.

Mourners broke out in a spontaneous round of applause as the hearse drove past en route to the minster.

The soldier's coffin was carried into the minster by soldiers from his own regiment, while his parents John and Sarah, and elder brother Marcus, followed behind.

Trooper Howarth died alongside Sergeant Andrew Jones, of the Royal Engineers, when their Jackal armoured vehicle was hit by an insurgent bomb in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand Province on September 18.