Soldier killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan was hero who saved comarades

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British soldier killed by a landmine in Afghanistan was a hero who foiled a suicide bomb attack on an Army convoy, it emerged yesterday.

Corporal Darryl Gardiner, 25, died on Sunday when his patrol vehicle drove over a landmine in northern Helmand Province.

Last October, shortly after he arrived in Afghanistan, he saved his unit from a suicide car bomber on the outskirts of the town of Gereshk.

Corporal Gardiner, who was driving one of the two vehicles in the patrol, spotted the bomber driving towards them and opened fire, stopping the suspect only 30ft away from his comrades as the bomber detonated his device.

The blast was just far enough away to save the troops from death or serious injury.

Corporal Gardiner was an armourer with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and was serving with the Royal Artillery's elite 143 Special Observation Post Battery – a unit trained to mount covert missions and guide artillery fire onto targets.

The 25-year-old was described as one of the leading parachutists in the military and was from Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Major Tony Phillips, who commands the unit, said Corporal Gardiner, "epitomised the cool, calm and courageous modern soldier".

In a statement last night, the young man's relatives said: "We are deeply proud that Darryl served his country."

Corporal Gardiner was the first British soldier to die in Afghanistan this year and the 87th since allied Hero: Darryl Gardiner forces arrived in the country in 2001.