Hundreds of people turned out to pay their respects today to two soldiers killed in Afghanistan as their bodies were returned to British soil.

Sergeant Stuart Millar, 40, from Inverness, and Private Kevin Elliott, 24, from Dundee, both from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, died in a blast in Lashkar Gah District, southern Helmand on Monday.

After a private chapel ceremony for their families at RAF Lyneham, hearses carrying the Union Jack-draped coffins were driven to the high street of nearby Wootton Bassett, in Wiltshire, for a memorial procession.

Under cloudy skies, soldiers lined the streets of the town alongside Royal British Legion veterans, shopkeepers and residents to pay tribute to the fallen men.

As the cortege passed along the High Street, silence fell, broken only by the chiming of the bells at St Bartholomew and All Saints Church, and standard-bearers from the Royal British Legion lowered their flags.

As the procession paused by the war memorial, which was covered in floral tributes, roses were placed on the hearses by relatives and friends.

Tearful family members wore white "peace poppies" on their clothes in recognition of the men.

The procession then continued to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, where post-mortem examinations are completed.

Crowds have lined the route to pay their respects since the bodies of British service personnel began being brought home through RAF Lyneham in 2007.

Among those paying their respects was Sgt Millar's close friend, Colour Sergeant Gerry McQuade, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Col Sgt McQuade, 32, an instructor at Sandhurst, worked alongside Sgt Millar when the fallen soldier served with his regiment.

Col Sgt McQuade, from Glasgow, said: "He was a very jovial person, and a very helpful person. He would drop everything to help.

"Overall, he was one of those people that nobody had a bad word to say against him."

He went on: "The loss of a soldier really hits home when it's someone you know.

"We all understand the consequences of operational tours, that in a worst case scenario someone could die, but when it's someone you know it does really hit home. It's upset me more than it has in the past."

Col Sgt McQuade said the support shown by the public in Wootton Bassett "meant a lot" to the soldiers.

Elsewhere in the crowd were Geoffrey White, 80, and Geoffrey Cottle, 84, who came from Chiseldon, near Swindon, Wiltshire, for their 16th repatriation ceremony.

Mr White, who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) for 38 years, said: "We want to make sure somebody is here to support these chaps, who have given their all."

Mr Cottle, who served with the REME during the Second World War, from 1943 to 1947, said: "The families will get a degree of comfort to see people come here and support the men. During my service, when people died they were just buried - there was no-one there."

The bodies were repatriated shortly after the shock protest resignation of Labour MP Eric Joyce - a former Black Watch major - who had been an aide to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth.

Mr White added that he believed British troops should be in Afghanistan, but needed more support from the Government and other Nato forces.

He said: "If we're going to do the job, let's do it properly. There's too much of this now, and it's going on and on."

Sgt Millar and Pte Elliott are thought to have been killed by a rocket-propelled grenade when they were attacked by insurgents while on foot patrol.

Their deaths took the number of British military personnel killed in the country since operations began in 2001 to 210.

Sgt Millar, known as Gus, joined the Army in 2000 after serving in the Territorial Army.

After his death, his family said the father-of-one had "always wanted to be a soldier" and "passionately enjoyed his job".

"He was very brave and is a credit to both our family and the Army. We are really proud of him as a father, son, brother and soldier," they said.

The mortar fire controller, who was the oldest soldier in his company, leaves a wife, Jillian, and daughter, Grace.

Pte Elliott had previously served in Iraq and Northern Ireland and was determined to die fighting for his friends, his family said.

In a statement, his family paid tribute to the "life and soul of the party who lived life to the full".

It read: "He chose to go to Afghanistan to be with his mates and to give his life for them.

"The whole family loved Kevin and we are devastated by his death."