A little girl's final farewell to father who died a hero

UNITED in their grief, close family members comforted one another as they said their goodbyes to their hero, killed while trying to stop two suicide bombers in Afghanistan.

At the funeral service in Wakefield yesterday, there was spontaneous applause from members of the public for Lance Corporal David Kirkness – then respectful silence as his three-year-old daughter Brooke walked through the guard of honour with his parents, Chris and Margaret.

The 24-year-old soldier's brother Chris, 14, proudly wore his brother's Northern Ireland service medal on his grey overcoat.

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Hundreds gathered outside Wakefield Cathedral for the service and many lined the main street in Morley, his home town, as the funeral cortege passed by.

The soldier, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, died on December 15 as he tried to stop two suicide bombers on a motorbike blowing up a crowded marketplace.

Another soldier, 18-year-old Rifleman James Brown, also died in the attack outside Sangin, in Helmand province.

Around 1,000 people stood outside in freezing conditions as the hour-long service was broadcast on speakers and heard the L/Cpl Kirkness described as a hero following the manner of his death, saving so many people.

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The crowd applauded again as the coffin was brought out, followed by L/Cpl Kirkness's family and girlfriend, Mel Maclean, 31, who found out after his death that L/Cpl Kirkness was planning to ask her to marry him when he returned from Afghanistan.

His daughter is from a previous relationship.

The family watched as the coffin was placed back in the hearse, which had the words "Daddy" spelt out in flowers down the side.

Earlier, little Brooke and Christopher were presented with L/Cpl Kirkness's Elizabeth Cross.

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