The British soldier killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday was named today as Private Peter Cowton, 25, from Basingstoke in Hampshire, a member of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment. He died in an explosion just days before he was due to return to Britain to visit his family, his commanding officer said.

Private Cowton's parents, Karen and Robin Rolfe, said: "He was so proud to be a Paratrooper as we, his parents, and family were. His short regular Army career will not be forgotten."

Lieutenant Colonel Joe O'Sullivan, commanding officer of 2 Para, praised Private Cowton as "a remarkable man" who "chose to face a dangerous enemy in a harsh environment and to do so every day for his friends, his regiment and his country."

"The cost is high and painful to Private Cowton's friends but most of all to his family, who had expected him home for a short R&R break in a few days," Lieutenant Colonel O'Sullivan said.

Private Cowton was lead scout of his platoon, which was taking part in operations to push the Taliban away from Forward Operating Base Gibraltar in Helmand Province. He was wounded in a blast on Tuesday morning, after his patrol encountered enemy forces, and died soon afterwards.

He was an experienced soldier who joined the Territorial Army in 2004, completing two tours in Iraq before joining the regular Army last year. He had been in Afghanistan since March.

His death is the seventh suffered by 2 Para this summer as they try to clear the Taliban from the Northern Helmand River valley.

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