Wife in tribute to blast soldier

3:34am Friday 25th July 2008

The wife of a British soldier killed by a roadside bomb as he drove an ambulance in southern Afghanistan paid tribute to her "loving husband".

Corporal Jason Barnes, 25, was hailed for his bravery in helping save the life of a critically wounded comrade just before his death.

Colleagues and senior officers spoke of a popular and hard-working soldier with a "bright future" who put others first "without fear or complaint".

Cpl Barnes, originally from Exeter, Devon, was a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers armourer attached to 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment. His grieving wife Diana, who lived with him in Colchester, Essex, said: "He was a loving husband and will be sadly missed."

The tragedy unfolded on Tuesday evening after another 2 Para soldier was seriously injured in a mine blast as British troops took on Taliban militants in the Kajaki area of Helmand Province.

Cpl Barnes helped to evacuate the serviceman by helicopter before setting off back to base in an Army Vector ambulance. His vehicle was hit by a suspected insurgent roadside bomb, and despite treatment he died a few minutes later.

Major Grant Haywood, Cpl Barnes's company commander, praised the soldier's "boundless energy and selfless commitment".

He said: "He was not one to be left behind when there was an operation to be conducted. In his primary role as an armourer, he was first class, never one to call time when there was a job to be done."

Lieutenant Colonel Joe O'Sullivan, 2 Para's commanding officer, said: "He died helping others when he could have taken an easier path, and in doing so demonstrated the commitment and bloody-minded determination that runs so deeply through the battalion."

Cpl Barnes's death took to 111 the number of British service personnel who have lost their lives in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November 2001.

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