THE BODY of a teenage soldier who died in Afghanistan will be flown back to Oxfordshire today.

Private John King, of 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was killed on December 30.

The 19-year-old, pictured, was on foot patrol with Afghan National Security Forces around the village of Llara Kalay in Helmand Province when the patrol came under fire.

Pte King was caught in the blast from an improvised explosive device, IED, and was killed.

Hundreds of people are expected to gather at the memorial garden at Carterton, and along the route taken by the cortege through Headley Way, Oxford, to the John Radcliffe Hospital for the first repatriation of a fallen soldier in 2012.

Pte King, from Darlington, joined the Army in 2009 and had been in Afghanistan less than three months, arriving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e-Saraj commanded by the Danish Battle group in October 2011, serving with B(FAMARS) Company.

His mother Karen, father Barry, brothers Ian and Stephen and girlfriend Kelly paid tribute to the young soldier.

They said: “John was a tremendous son, brother and boyfriend. He was a devoted grandson, a loving family member, and a proud soldier who died doing a job he adored. He will be sadly missed by all his family, friends, and loyal German Shepherd dog Rex."”

Lt Col Dan Bradbury, commanding officer 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, said the 18 months Pte King had spent with the battalion had been among the busiest in recent history.

He said: “From early on he was able to fit in quickly through a combination of hard work, grit, a willingness to endure difficult conditions and an irrepressible sense of humour.

“His cheeky smile — no matter what we were doing — is the thing we will miss most of all.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his comrades in Afghanistan — who will today be resuming their efforts to improve security — but most of all with his family in Darlington.”

The officer commanding B Company, Major James Kennedy praised Pte King as “gritty, determined, hard-working and quick to lend a hand”.

He said: “Never the smartest turned-out soldier, but we wouldn’t have swapped him for the world, and I have no doubt that he would have had a long and successful career in the infantry.”

The plane is expected to land at about 2pm, with the cortege passing the memorial garden at around 4pm and arriving at the John Radcliffe Hospital at 5pm.

Veteran and Royal British Legion member Jim Lewendon will be among those lining Headley Way and paying his respects. He said: “We always hope there won’t be any more but it just goes on. It couldn’t be a worse way to start the year.

“At 19 years, it is such a sad waste of life.”

Norton Way will be closed from 10.45am, while Station Road, Brize Norton, will be closed for approximately 10 minutes once the cortege leaves Britannia Gate at the RAF base.