The body of a soldier killed in Afghanistan weeks before he was due home has been repatriated to Britain.

Lance Corporal Jamie Webb, 24, from Handforth, died from wounds sustained during a Taliban attack on his patrol base in Helmand Province.

The body of the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment soldier was flown into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where his Union flag-draped coffin was carried from the plane with full military honours.

A private service was held before the cortege made its way to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

The former Wilmslow High pupil joined the Army in 2006.

The Union flag above Macclesfield Town Hall is flying at half mast as a mark of respect for the soldier.

His family, from Handforth, previously issued a statement saying: “We are so proud of Jamie being a Mercian soldier. Jamie is loved by his dad Dave, mum Sue and his close family and friends.”