THE Last Post played as one by one the bodies of the three soldiers killed in Afghanistan were carried from a C17 at RAF Lyneham.

Private Aaron McClure, 19, of Ipswich, Private John Thrumble, 21, of Chelmesford, and Private Robert Foster, 19, of Harlow, were killed during friendly fire on August 23 while patrolling in Helmand Province.

I joined Wootton Bassett Police as they prepared to accompany the repatriation entourage from the airstrip at Lyneham to Swindon.

The 20-strong team of officers spread along the route had stayed on shift for the evening to volunteer for the duty.

We met the three hearses at Lyneham main gate, each coffin draped in a Union Flag.

A single soldier, on his way home for the evening, dropped his kit bag and stood smartly to attention before saluting.

"This is the last thing the military can do for them now" explained PC Jarra Brown - "show them their respect."

Privates McClure, Thrumble, and Foster, who were serving with Seven Platoon Suffolk Company, were in an area north-west of Kajaki when they were killed by US F15 aircraft.

The fighter aircraft were called in to help during an assault from Taliban fighters.

It is thought that a bomb deployed by one of the aircraft and intended for Taliban militia claimed the lives of the soldiers and injured two others.

All three young servicemen were pronounced dead at the scene.

Driving through Lyneham ahead of the procession there was an eerie calm resting over the village and not a person to be seen.

For the service personnel who make up the small community, this is too close to home and they choose to mark the occasion in private.

As we entered Wootton Bassett it dawned on me that the combined age of these three tragic soldiers doesn't equal that of any of the war veterans lining the High Street.

More than 100 people stood silently on either side of the road bowing their heads as our sombre procession passed by.

A queue of oncoming traffic formed as one by one motorist stepped out of their vehicles as a mark of respect.

Although this was the 23rd such occasion for Wiltshire Police, the meaning has never lost its impact.

Jarra said: "We each still get a lump in our throat when you see the support and respect the people of Wootton Bassett pay to these poor souls.

"We will never be blasé about it, yes it has become part of our job but it's an honour not a chore."

After we left Wootton Bassett we continued to Swindon where the three servicemen will be transferred into the custody of Wiltshire coroner, David Masters pending the inquest into their deaths.

With 54 bodies having already been repatriated at the airbase you could be forgiven for being desensitised to the constant convoys passing through the villages and towns.

But and respect and dignity the people of Wootton Bassett and of Wiltshire have shown these brave soldiers is something that will live on for ever.