The bodies of two soldiers from the district killed during the war with Iraq have been flown home for family funerals.

Coffins of 11 servicemen who died in the Gulf were flown into the RAF base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire yesterday.

As the coffins were carried from the aircraft, the Band of the Royal Scots Guard played and the families of the servicemen were invited to a special service to remember their loved ones.

The bodies of Sergeant Steven Mark Roberts and Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley were both returned to their families.

Sgt Roberts was killed in action at Al Zubayr, near Basra, on March 24. Attached to the Second Royal Tank Regiment, the 33-year-old was raised in Cornwall but recently lived in Shipley.

Lance Corporal Brierley, 28, of Batley, died on March 30 after suffering head injuries in a road accident in Kuwait. The radio systems operator with more than ten years army experience was a member of the 212 Royal Signal Squadron, based in Hereford in Germany. He had served in Canada, the former Yugoslavia, Oman and Poland.

Both local soldiers are expected to be buried with military honours.