A YOUNG soldier who died after a roadside bomb exploded while he was on foot patrol in Afghanistan was unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled.

Lieutenant Daniel Clack was leading his team of ten in the village of Dactran when the explosion happened as he crossed a bridge.

The 24-year-old, of Monkhams Lane, Woodford Green, died two hours later despite desperate attempts to save him on August 12 last year, Walthamstow Coroners' Court heard on Friday.

In a statement read to the inquest, Lt Clack's mother, Sue Clack, paid tribute to her son, who was known as "the boss" by colleagues.

She said: "Dan Clack was born for the Army.

"For him there was no other option, five minutes with him and anybody could see that. In so much as some people have a natural calling in life, for Dan this was undoubtedly the military.

"He was a man who felt confident in command and who could inspire others to follow him through the force of his personality and the strength of his convictions.

"If anything can bring solace to Dan’s family it should be that he was one of a rare breed of people that achieved a calling in life that he was made for, perfect for, and that he valued what he did with pride and an incredible sense of duty."

Medic Lance Corporal Hayley Ridgeway treated Lt Clack immediately after the explosion, which injured four others.

She said: "When the explosion went off I was on the edge of the bridge. I felt a pain in my leg and I didn’t really know what had happened.

After the dust had settled I could hear someone shouting for me."

A quad bike soon arrived an took Lt Clack back to a checkpoint, where Lance Corporal Ridgeway administered CPR until a helicopter transported his to Camp Bastion, where he later died.

Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Clack said her son was "lucky to do a job he loved", adding the inquest had brought some closure for her family.

Lt Clack left behind his fiancé of five years, Amy Tinley, who he was planning to marry when he returned from Afghanistan.

Coroner Mr Chinyere Inyamna ruled that Lt Clack was unlawfully killed by Afghan insurgents.