GRIEVING family and friends of a Burwell solider will be saying their final goodbyes at his funeral today.
GRIEVING family and friends of a Burwell solider will be saying their final goodbyes at his funeral today.
Private Robert Hayes, 19, of 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, was the first UK soldier to die in Afghanistan this year.
He was killed by an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol in the Nad-e-Ali area of Helmand province on Sunday, January 3, 2010.
Pte Hayes, from Burwell, Cambridgeshire, completed his Army training in March last year and joined 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment shortly afterwards.
In October the young soldier deployed to one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan as part of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards Battle Group.
The service is due to take place at St Mary's Church in Burwell this afternoon.
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