Killed soldier linked to county

The first female soldier to be killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan was based in Shrewsbury just a year before her death, it emerged today.Corporal Sarah Bryant was killed on June 17 when the vehicle she was travelling in was struck by an explosive device east of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.

The 26-year-old had been serving in southern Afghanistan as part of the Helmand Task Force since March.

Belinda Steel, spokeswoman for the Copthorne Barracks in Shrewsbury, said: "She was here for two years up to August 2007, so she was here just over a year ago."

After passing basic training in 2002 Mrs Bryant was posted to the Military Intelligence Section in Herford, Germany, and then posted to the Shrewsbury barracks in 2005 after completing her first tour of duty in Iraq.

Shortly afterwards she married her husband Carl in October of that year and then posted to Cambridgeshire after her second tour of Iraq in 2007.

Sarah has been described as being a respected soldier, a loving wife and a much-loved daughter.

Yesterday, more than 300 people crowded into St Joseph's Catholic Church in Brighton, East Sussex, to pay their last respects to Corporal Sean Robert Reeve of the Royal Signals, who also died in the blast.

Also killed in the explosion were SAS reservists Lance Corporal Richard Larkin, 39, and Paul Stout, 31.