Royal Welsh soldier killed in Afghanistan

A soldier from the 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh has been killed in Afghanistan.

29 year old Captain Stephen Healey from Cardiff was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a bomb. 

Captain Healey was born on 19 September 1982 in Cardiff. 

On leaving school he became a semi-professional footballer; playing for a number of clubs in the South Wales area including an apprenticeship with Swansea City. 

He continued to play whilst completing a degree in Sports Science at Swansea University. He joined the Army in 2007 and was commissioned into the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh in 2008.

Captain Healey leaves behind his father John, mother Kerry, brother Simon and girlfriend Thea.

His family have paid the following tribute:

"Stephen was all you could wish for in a son, brother, uncle and friend. He will be sadly missed by us all. He managed to do more in his 30 years than most people do in a lifetime."

His girlfriend, Thea, paid her own tribute:

"Stephen will always be in my heart. I will miss him so much, he was my love, my life and my everything. Now he rests in peace, he was living the life he wanted to do with his men."