Friend pays tribute to Private Gregg Stone at inquest
It happened so fast. The next thing we were told was 'man down'. We weren't sure what condition he was in. We were in the fight but we weren't actually engaging the enemy. We tried to get Gregg across the river without a stretcher. I just picked Gregg up and started running to the helicopter. He said two other soldiers also helped as he got closer to the aircraft. Gregg wasn't just a great soldier - he was a great friend."
Soldier inquest delivers verdict of unlawful killing
A verdict of unlawful killing has been recorded following the death of a soldier from East Yorkshire who was shot in Afghanistan during a mission to rescue a kidnapped policeman.
20-year- old Private Gregg Stone was killed in Helmand province less than a month after arriving in the country. He was hit as his task force successfully saved the policeman from insurgents who'd captured him at a checkpoint.
The verdict was recorded at an inquest in Private Stone's home city of Hull.
An inquest into the death of a soldier who was shot in Afghanistan during a daring mission to rescue a kidnapped policeman is due to be held today.
Private Gregg Thomas Stone, 20, was killed in the Nar-e-Saraj district of Helmand province less than a month after arriving in the country.
The married soldier, from 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, was hit as his task force successfully saved policeman Abdul Walid from insurgents who captured him at a checkpoint.
Today's inquest will take place at the Coroner's Court in Essex House, in Pte Stone's home city of Hull.
Paying tribute to him following his death last June, Pte Stone's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Zac Stenning, said he "died protecting the lives of others
"He was respected and admired by his fellows, as someone who was totally selfless and cared deeply for others."
He gave his life to make a distant land a safer place to live in - that is what mourners were told today as they gathered for the funeral of a young soldier from East Yorkshire. Private Gregg Stone was just 20-years-old when he was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month.
Today his wife Samantha, who is expecting their first child, led the tributes - as family and friends paid their last respects. Tina Gelder reports.
A soldier from the 3rd battalion the Yorkshire Regiment killed in Afghanistan on Sunday was about to become a father for the first time. Private Gregg Stone, who was 20 and from Hornsea, was killed during an operation to rescue an Afghan police officer who had been kidnapped by insurgents.
His wife Samanatha today paid tribute to a "brilliant husband and a family man". David Hirst reports.
The family of a teenager who died from a rare heart condition have organised a football match in his memory. 15-year-old Josh Fell, from Hornsea, died last year after suffering from sudden arrhythmia death syndrome. His family have arranged the day to raise thousands of pounds for heart screenings.
