Tributes to 'courageous young leader'

Corporal Simon Hornby, 29, was on foot patrol in Nad-e-Ali, Afghanistan on December 19 when he was hit by a home-made bomb.

The section commander with Arnhem Company, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died from his injuries.

Hundreds of mourners battled through the snow and ice in Liverpool to attend his funeral at the city's Anglican Cathedral.

Paying tribute, his commanding officer Lt Col Robbie Boyd, who flew from Cyprus to attend, said the soldier had an "insatiable enthusiasm for the Army".

"He was a chirpy, quintessential Liverpudlian," he added. "He was a very promising soldier with a great future. I've lost one of my most courageous young leaders."

Cpl Hornby was commended in 2007 for saving lives by destroying an improvised explosive device and then engaging Iraqi insurgents in a firefight.