Funeral of 'perfect' soldier Michael Pike held
The funeral of Aberdeenshire soldier Corporal Michael Pike, who was killed in Afghanistan, has been held in Devon.
The 26-year-old married father-of-two, of 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, died in action earlier this month.
The Huntly soldier's commanding officer described him as "the perfect example of a Highland soldier".
The funeral took place at All Saints Church in Merton.
Cpl Pike had been sent with his unit to Pupalzay, along the Highway 601 in the Lashkar Gah area of Helmand province.
He was taking part in an operation to prevent the insurgents from "intimidating the local population" and attacking an Afghan police checkpoint.
His patrol came under fire from rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
Eyewitnesses said Cpl Pike "didn't go down without a fight" and was offering covering fire when he was killed.
Cpl Pike had been deployed to Afghanistan in April.
He joined the Army as a private in 2002. After a tour of Iraq, he served in Helmand province in 2008.