THE bodies of six soldiers killed in Afghanistan - including one from North Yorkshire - returned home to Britain today.

Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, and Guardsman Jimmy Major, 18, from the Grenadier Guards, died alongside Corporal Steven Boote, 22, and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from the Royal Military Police.

They were shot dead by a rogue Afghan police officer at a secure checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali in Helmand Province on November 3 in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

Two days later, Serjeant Phillip Scott, 30, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, who was born in Malton, was killed by an improvised explosive device near Sangin in Helmand.

The C-17 Globemaster transporting their coffins landed at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire just after 11am.

After a private repatriation ceremony for their families, hearses carrying their Union flag-draped coffins will pass along the High Street of nearby Wootton Bassett.

Crowds have appeared along the route to pay their respects since the bodies of British service personnel began being brought home through RAF Lyneham in 2007.

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

As Regimental Sergeant Major, WO1 Chant, who was born in Walthamstow, east London, was the top non-commissioned officer in the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards.

On the day he was killed he was due to be told he had been awarded a commission as an officer. He left his pregnant widow, Nausheen Chant, and three children from a previous marriage, Connor, 16, Adam, ten, and Victoria, eight.

Sgt Telford, from Grimsby, left behind his widow, Kerry, and two sons, Harry, four, and Callum, nine.

Mrs Telford, 33, spoke of her dilemma about how to break the news of her husbands death to Harry, telling the Grimsby Telegraph: "I want to be able to tell him that hes in heaven now and that he's gone to be with the angels."

Guardsman Major, also from Grimsby, was the youngest of those killed in the shooting.

He was due to turn 19 this Thursday, but never had the chance to enjoy the birthday cake and presents his family had sent out to Afghanistan.

Cpl Webster-Smith, who grew up in Carmarthen, West Wales, and lived in Brackley, Northamptonshire, was on his second tour of Afghanistan.

His girlfriend, Emma Robinson, wrote in a message on his Facebook page: "You have made me so happy and we have had so many happy memories together which will never be forgotten. I love you always."

Cpl Boote, from Birkenhead, Liverpool, was a soldier in the Territorial Army who had volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan.

He worked as a security team leader at a local Tesco store and had hoped to join the police when he returned to Britain.

Sjt Scott, meanwhile, was deployed to Afghanistan in September alongside his brother Robin, also a serjeant in 3 Rifles.

He left behind his widow, Ellen, and children, Ellie, three, and Michael, one.

A total of 232 UK troops have died since the mission in Afghanistan began in October 2001.