Dead teenage soldier was 'a true lion of England'

A teenage British soldier killed in Afghanistan was remembered today as "an English fighter extraordinaire".

Kingsman Sean Dawson, 19, from 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died in a firefight with suspected insurgents in the Musa Qala area of Helmand Province on Sunday.

Kingsman Dawson, of Manchester, deployed to Afghanistan on 16 January, shortly after passing a course to become a sniper.

He was awarded the prize for "most courageous fighter" after he won a battalion boxing championship in November.

The soldier leaves behind parents Sean and Karen, two brothers, three sisters and his girlfriend, Sadie.

Mr Dawson said: "He believed in everything he was doing in Afghanistan and, even though he was apprehensive, he couldn't wait to get out there. I cannot put into words the hole he is going to leave behind in the lives of everyone who knew him."

Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Boyd, commanding officer of 2 Lancs, known as the "Lions of England", said said: "Kingsman Sean Dawson was in every way a fighter, an English fighter extraordinaire — a true lion of England."

A total of 261 British service personnel have died since operations in Afghanistan began in 2001.