THE WIFE of a soldier killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan has paid tribute to her husband who she described as a "very brave man".
Serjeant Phillip Scott of 3rd Battalion The Rifles died following an improvised explosive device blast in northern Helmand province on Thursday.
The 30-year-old lived in Edinburgh with his wife, Ellen, and two children – Ellie, three, and Michael
, one. Mrs Scott said: "My husband was a very brave man, loved by all his family and a very dear husband and father."
Serjeant Scott's platoon was attached to B Company during a deliberate clearance operation in the town of Sangin when the explosion took place.
Shocked colleagues described him as a "natural soldier" and said the gap in their platoon could never be filled.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, Commanding Officer 3 Rifles Battle Group, said: "Serjeant Scott was the most professional of soldiers, the toughest of men and the gentlest of friends."
Serjeant Scott was born in Malton, North Yorkshire.
Colour Serjeant Paul Lucke, second-in-command of Recce Platoon, said Serjeant Scott was a "soldier's soldier".
Meanwhile, a teenager is planning a 3,000ft skydive as a tribute to her Edinburgh-born father, who died defusing a Taleban bomb. Cayleigh O'Donnell, 17, is due to parachute solo on Remembrance Sunday in aid of Help for Heroes.
Her father Gary, 40, was killed in September 2008. He was awarded two George Medals for outstanding courage.
