Sheffield funeral for 'legend' soldier

Hundreds of people have lined the streets of Sheffield for the funeral of a soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Cpl Liam Riley of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was killed in an explosion near Malgir on 1 February.

The 21-year-old from Killamarsh, Derbyshire, had been trying to recover the body of fellow soldier L/Cpl Graham Shaw, who died in a separate explosion.

Prince Harry, who served with Cpl Riley in 2007, described him as a "legend" and said he was a "really special man".

Our Liam shone so bright for such a short space of time, sometimes I think that maybe he was never meant to fade Jonathan Riley Cpl Riley's brother

Police closed off roads in the city centre and hundreds of people lined the streets and entrance to Sheffield Cathedral, where Cpl Riley's funeral took place.

Three coachloads of the soldier's friends and colleagues travelled to the funeral from Warminster in Wiltshire, where Cpl Riley was based.

Alongside the soldier's coffin, which was draped in a Union flag, was a flower arrangement which spelled out the word "son".

Cpl Riley's older brother Jonathan paid tribute to him during the service.

Cheeky smile

He said he hoped nobody minded him wearing the regimental tie as he believed his brother "was a proud soldier, and a proud Yorkshireman would have wanted me to wear it".

Mr Riley said Cpl Riley had a "cheeky grin" and an "endearing personality" and it had been "a privilege and an honour to watch him grow into the man he became".

He added: "Our Liam shone so bright for such a short space of time, sometimes I think that maybe he was never meant to fade.

Prince Harry said it was a "privilege" to have served with Cpl Riley

"His memory will burn so brightly. It will shine in our minds, just like a shooting star in the dark night sky, just as his personality did on Earth."

As Mr Riley stood down, the congregation inside the cathedral and those gathered on the streets broke into applause.

The Reverend Helen Guest, of St Giles Parish Church in Killamarsh, read a poem written by Cpl Riley's mother, Cheryl Routledge.

The long poem included verses that said of her son: "I want the world to know how his cheeky smile consumed my heart.

"I want the world to know of my unconditional love, right from the start.

"I want the world to know Liam and the Army fitted in hand in glove.

"I want the world to know his family and his regimental pals were his love."

Following the service, a private family committal was held at Killamarsh Cemetery.

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