Tributes to Yorkshire soldier who died after Afghan blast

Captain Andrew Griffiths, 25, from the 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died on Sunday at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, after he was wounded in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj area of Helmand province last month.

In a statement, the family of Capt Griffiths, who was born in Richmond, North Yorkshire, said: "Andrew was a beloved son, brother and boyfriend who will be hugely missed for the joy he brought into our lives.

"We are immensely proud of him and all that he has achieved in his all too short life. He died doing a job he loved and excelled at."

Capt Griffiths was brought up in a military family and studied European and International Studies at Loughborough University before starting the Commissioning Course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in September 2007.

Whilst there, an MoD spokesman said, he only ever considered joining The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, known as the "Lions of England" – his father's regiment.

Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Boyd, Commanding Officer 2 Lancs, said he was "an officer with courage, charm, values, humility and above all else a sense of fun".

Capt Griffiths leaves his parents and siblings Abigail, David and Laura and girlfriend Nic.

Earlier the MoD named a British soldier killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in southern Afghanistan on Sunday as Lance Corporal Joseph Pool, 26, from the Royal Scots Borderers.