The bodies of four British soldiers killed in Afghanistan will be brought home today.

Corporal Kevin Mulligan, 26, Lance Corporal Dale Hopkins, 23, Private Kyle Adams, 21, all from the Parachute Regiment, were killed when their Jackal armoured vehicle was hit by an explosion north of Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province on August 6.

The men, who were working with special forces, were carrying out a routine security patrol with Afghan forces when the vehicle was struck by the blast before coming under small arms fire from insurgents.

Private Jason Williams, 23, From Worcester, of the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, was killed in Helmand on Saturday while trying to retrieve the body of a fallen comrade.

He was struck by an improvised explosive device during an operation to secure an area where three Afghan soldiers had been killed earlier in the day.

After a private ceremony for their families at RAF Lyneham, their coffins will pass through Wootton Bassett where hundreds are expected to line the High Street in for the heroes homecoming at 2pm this afternoon.

The procession will then continue to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth paid tribute to the "highly gifted" Paras and lamented their loss as a "heavy blow".