Hundreds of people united in their grief yesterday as the bodies of three British servicemen killed in Afghanistan within three days were repatriated.

The bodies of Lance Corporal Martin Gill, of 42 Commando Royal Marines, Corporal Michael Pike, of 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and Rifleman Martin Lamb, of 1st Battalion The Rifles, were flown into RAF Lyneham.

A private service was held at the base's chapel for the servicemen's families before a cortege passed through nearby Wootton Bassett.

The three men's families stood side by side and were joined by friends, members of the Royal British Legion and local people as they lined the town's main road in tribute.

As a single bell tolled - marking the arrival of the cortege - the Wiltshire town fell silent.

A line of Royal British Legion standard bearers standing opposite the families slowly lowered their standards as passers by lowered their heads.

The hearses came to a halt in front of the town's war memorial emblazoned with the words "lest we forget".

Family and friends of the men sobbed as they laid flowers on top of the vehicles, with some laying a hand against the glass.

Cpl Pike was killed on June 3 and L/Cpl Gill and Rfn Lamb died two days later.

Cpl Pike, 26, from Huntly, Scotland, was fatally wounded by insurgents who attacked his patrol with guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand Province.

He died saving the lives of his comrades as he took on the enemy in a firefight, his men said.

L/Cpl Gill, 22, from Nottingham, was shot dead on a patrol in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand Province on June 5. He had been taking part in a patrol in the Adensee area to meet local people and disrupt insurgents in preparation for future operations.

He had been providing cover for a comrade operating a metal detector to look for hidden Taliban roadside bombs when he was shot.

Rfn Lamb, 27, died in a bomb blast while on patrol in the Haji Kareen area of the Nahr-e Saraj (South) district on June 5.

His colleagues said his death has left a "gaping hole" in their ranks.

The father of one, from Dursley, Gloucestershire, leaves wife Melissa and two-year-old daughter Rosie.

Today Melissa clung to her daughter as she wept. She placed her hand against the glass of the hearse as she said goodbye and wiped away the tears while she was comforted by family members.

Nathan Vines, 27, who went to school with Rfn Lamb said today he was a dedicated father.

The builder, from Dursley, said: "I'm here for my mate.

"He was outgoing, always there for his friends and family, he was a good father and he just liked going out and having a laugh.

"I've lived next door to him all my life really, grown up as kids together and he was just a really nice guy, very outgoing."

The deaths of the three men took to 371 the number of UK military personnel who have died since operations in Afghanistan began in 2001.