THE 100th British solider to die in Afghanistan will be flown home on Tuesday.

Jonathan Schofield

THE 100th British solider to die in Afghanistan will be flown home on Tuesday.

The body of Lance Corporal Adam Drane, 23, from Stanningfield, near Bury St Edmunds, will arrive at RAF Lyneham at 11am for a private ceremony before a procession through Wooton Bassett.

Lance Cpl Drane, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, died last Monday as a result of small arms fire at a checkpoint in the Nad-e Ali area in central Helmand Province.

He was the 100th British soldier to die in Afghanistan this year and the 11th serviceman from the Royal Anglians - also known as the Vikings - to have died since the start of the conflict.

News of his death sent shock waves through the tiny Suffolk village where he grew up.

His parents, Desmond and Jackie Drane, said there were “no words” to describe the loss of their son who also leaves a fianc�e, Sian Goodenough.

In a statement his parents said: “No words can describe what our loss means to us. But knowing we are united with all Service families brings comfort.

“As his parents - together with Sian, his fianc�e, and on behalf of Christopher, his younger brother - we wish to express our tremendous pride in Adam's achievements as a son, a brother and future husband.”

The former King Edward VI schoolboy, born on July 24, 1986, in Bury St Edmunds, was described by head teacher Geoff Barton as an “utterly likeable and reliable” former student.

He said: “Adam's death is a reminder of how close-to-home the events of Afghanistan are for soldiers' families and friends, and a reminder also of just how much we all owe to people like him.”

Tributes were made in parliament by Gordon Brown and David Cameron following news of his death.

This year has been the bloodiest for British forces since the Falklands War in 1982.