Families pay tribute to two Paras killed in firefight

Tributes have been paid to two British servicemen shot dead while on patrol in Afghanistan.

Private Lewis Hendry, of 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, was said by his parents to have had a "true heart of gold" and a smile which "lit up every room he walked into".

Private Conrad Lewis - posted to 3 Para from a TA reserve battalion in 2009 - was described by his family as someone who "made you feel good about life".

The soldiers were shot while on patrol in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand on Wednesday. They were part of a foot patrol designed to reassure the local population and gather census information in a village north of the Nahr-e Bughra Canal when they came under attack. Both were given medical attention at the scene and "medevaced" by helicopter but died of their wounds. Pte Hendry, a member of the elite Patrols Platoon, was from Norwich. He would have been 21 tomorrow.