Soldier's family hold charity day

Jake Alderton died when his vehicle rolled off a bridge

The parents of a Kent soldier who died in Afghanistan will hold a fundraising day for a charity that helps soldiers.

Keith and Lesley Alderton's son, Jake, of Maidstone's 36 Engineer Regiment, died in November 2007 when a vehicle he was travelling in rolled off a bridge.

The event aims to raise money for Help for Heroes, a charity set up to fund Headley Court, a service rehabilitation centre in Ashtead, Surrey.

"Soldiers are our boys and we need to support them," Mrs Alderton said.

The fundraising day will take place in Eltham, south London, on Saturday, with Jake's family and former comrades selling Help for Heroes merchandise all day on the High Street.

'Worst thing'

In the evening, family and friends will hold a 1940s blitz-themed night at the Rising Sun pub.

Lance Corporal Jake Alderton was a Royal Engineer who had been teaching the Afghan National Army engineering skills.

His father described the day the family learnt of his death as "terrible".

"As soon as the two guardsmen showed their army IDs I realised something was bad, but probably the worst thing was knowing you're going to have to tell everybody else.

'An inspiration'

Mrs Alderton said: "I remember saying 'what are we going to do without Jake?' and I still don't know what we're going to do without him."

Bryn Parry, co-founder of Help for Heroes, said: "I take my hat off to Jake's parents. I think they're an inspiration to everybody.

"It's not to do with politics or whether a war is right or wrong, we're simply concerned about the young men and women who are being killed and wounded," he added.

Help for Heroes was founded in November 2007 to raise �6m for a swimming pool and gym facilities at Headley Court, and reached that target earlier this year.

It now aims to fund further rehabilitation programmes for soldiers who have left Headley Court.

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