THE bodies of three paratroopers killed in Afghanistan have been flown home.

Pte Lewis Hendry, of 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, based at Colchester Garrison, was shot as he patrolled an area in the north of Nad-e Ali district of Helmand Province on February 9.

Pte Conrad Lewis, of 4th Battlion, the Parachute Regiment, attached to Colchester-based troops, was shot dead in the same incident.

L/Cpl Kyle Marshall, of 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, based at Colchester, was killed on Monday in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj district.

Pte Robert Wood and Pte Dean Hutchinson, of the Royal Logistic Corps, who were killed in a fire at Camp Bastion on Monday, were alo repatriated yesterday.

The bodies of the five soliders were flown into RAF Lyneham, in Wiltshire, where private services were held for their families before the cortege passed through nearby Wootton Bassett.

Tributes have been paid to the men, whose deaths took the UK toll since the conflict began in Afghanistan in 2001 to 357.

Pte Hendry, who was born in Norwich and died three days before his 21st birthday, was said by his parents to have had a true heart of gold and a smile that lit up the room.

Pte Lewis, 22, from Bournemouth, was described by his family as someone who made you feel good about life.

They had been on a foot patrol designed to reassure the local population and gather census information in a small village north of the Nahr-e Bughra Canal when they came under fire.

L/Cpl Marshall, 23, from Newcastle, was due to marry fiancee Hayley at the end of his tour of duty.

His family said he was lively, outgoing and loving.

He discovered a huge bomb-making factory minutes before his death.

Troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade, based at Colchester Garrison, have been in Afghanistan since September and are due to return in May.

Since the beginning of February, seven soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan – one fewer than died in the previous three months.

Fresh offensives against the Taleban and better weather have been blamed for a dramatic increase in the number of deaths and serious injuries among British troops this month.