THE body of Lance Corporal Jamie Webb, who died of his injuries following an insurgent attack in Afghanistan, returns to Oxfordshire today.

Lance Corporal Webb, 24, of 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), died in hospital last week following an ambush on his patrol base in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand province on March 25.

He was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan and had also served in Northern Ireland and Iraq.

His death takes to 441 the number of UK service members who have lost their lives since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001 and he is the third to die so far in 2013.

L Cpl Webb was from Greater Manchester and had begun his second tour of Afghanistan in October 2012, as part of Transition Support Unit Nad-e-Ali, led by 1 Mercian battlegroup, working as a company intelligence collator and section second-in-command.

A statement from his family said: “We are so proud of Jamie being a Mercian soldier. Jamie is loved by his dad, Dave, mum, Sue, and his close family and friends.”

Lieutenant Colonel Phil Kimber MBE, Commanding Officer 1 Mercian, paid tribute to the young soldier’s consummate professionalism and ability to lift the morale of those around him: “A real character, a totally professional soldier and a great friend to many, L Cpl Webb was exactly the type of man you wanted around.

“Always with a smile on his face, always willing to engage in some witty and mischievous banter, he really did lift the morale of all around him.

“L Cpl Webb was surrounded by his friends when he was injured. These friends and all in 1 Mercian Battlegroup will miss him terribly. We have lost a great soldier and a great friend.

“Despite our grief we are acutely aware of the indescribable loss his family will now be feeling and it is his family that our thoughts and prayers are now with.”

It will be the first repatriation to RAF Brize Norton in 11 weeks. Service personnel are repatriated back to the West Oxfordshire base before being taken to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital for a post mortem examination.

Mayor of Carterton Adrian Coomber, who will host members of the soldier’s family at the town’s memorial garden, said: “The last repatriation was on January 17 and every week since we have counted our blessings.

“But while we have all been hoping for just one more week without notice of a repatriation, unfortunately, because of the nature of operations out there, we are likely to see even more casualties.”

He added: “L Cpl Webb was obviously a very talented and well-respected young soldier and Thursday will be a very sad day for us all.”

The plane carrying L Cpl Webb’s body will land at RAF Brize Norton at 1.30pm and the cortege will pass the memorial garden on the edge of Carterton at about 4pm. It will arrive at the JR Hospital at about 5pm.