Funeral for roadside bomb soldier

Sgt Graham Hesketh was described as a compassionate soldier

The funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq has been held in the church where he served as an altar boy.

Many people attended the service at Our Lady's Church in Runcorn, Cheshire, to pay their respects to Sgt Graham Hesketh, killed by a roadside bomb.

The 35-year-old father-of-two served as a platoon sergeant in the 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.

His fiancée Rebecca Barnes, 25, from North Yorkshire, followed the coffin into church in full Army dress uniform.

The pair were due to marry next year.

'Father figure'

His union flag-draped coffin arrived at the church decorated with a floral Everton FC crest. An Everton shirt was also inside the casket.

Mourners heard Graham Hesketh's father described him as "the best son anybody could ever wish for".

Sgt Hesketh was born in Liverpool but the family moved to Runcorn when he was four.

Father Adrian Tait said Sgt Hesketh was "a compassionate solider" and a "father figure" to his men

He said: "It appears he did not have to go on his final mission, but he went anyway because he wanted to make sure his men were safe."

Prayers were also said for all servicemen and women, particularly his Duke of Lancaster Regiment comrade, Alex Green, of Warrington, and Royal Marine Thomas Curry, from east London, both aged 21, who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan at the weekend.