Soldier killed in Afghanistan buried

More than 200 people yesterday attended the funeral of an army officer killed by an improvised explosive device while leading a patrol in Afghanistan.

Around 200 mourners filled St Bartholomew's Church in Moreton Corbet, near Shawbury, Shropshire, to pay tribute to Captain Rupert Bowers, 24, with another 50 people outside. Reverend David Humphries led an hour-long service, held with full military honours.

Captain Bowers was operating as an adviser to the Afghan National Army when he was killed in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province on 21 March. He was commissioned into 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters in 2007, after studying at Sandhurst.