The bodies of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan - including the son of an SAS hero - will return to British soil today.

Serjeant Paul McAleese, 29, of 2nd Battalion The Rifles, died shortly after Private Johnathon Young, 18, of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, in Helmand province on August 20.

Pte Young, who was based at Battlebury Barracks in Warminster, was killed in an initial explosion and Sjt McAleese, who went to help, was then killed in a second blast shortly after.

Sjt McAleese's father, John McAleese, was at the centre of the dramatic raid that ended a siege at the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980.

Their deaths, which took the number of UK troops killed in the conflict to 206, came as voters went to the polls in the country.

The men will be repatriated at RAF Lyneham shortly after 10am.

As has become tradition, coffins carrying their bodies will pass through Wootton Bassett, pausing at the war memorial, before heading on to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital for post-mortem examinations.

Hundreds of British Legion veterans, shopkeepers and residents are expected to once again line the streets to pay their respects as the fallen men's cortege passes through.

Sjt McAleese leaves a widow, Jo, and a son, Charley, who was born a week before his deployment to Afghanistan.

Paying tribute after his death, Jo said: "Mac, my husband, my best friend, my hero. You were an amazing Daddy to Charley and the best husband I could have ever asked for. We will love you and miss you for ever. We will always be so proud of what you achieved in your life and I am so, so proud to be your wife."

He was born in Hereford on October 18 1979 and began his Army training in March 1997.

Pte Young, born in Hull, joined the Army in February last year and was deployed to Afghanistan on August 2 as part of reinforcements sent to the country to boost numbers after a wave of casualties.

He is understood to be the first of the extra service personnel to be killed.

Defence chiefs sent 125 extra soldiers at the end of last month to maintain troop levels after a record number of injuries and deaths in July.

Pte Young leaves his mother, Angela, brother, Carl, sister, Leah and girlfriend, Nicola.

Paying tribute to Pte Young, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Vallings, Commanding Officer 3 Yorks, said: "He had already set his mark as a robust and determined soldier who always put his friends first. He had a strength of character that forced him to be at the very centre of events and it was no surprise that he volunteered to deploy at Afghanistan at short notice."