GRIEVING friends of Rifleman Philip Allen laid flowers on the car carrying his coffin through Wootton Bassett.

They made the two-hour journey to the Wiltshire town yesterday as his body was flown into nearby RAF Lyneham.

Fifteen to twenty people made the trip and many broke down in tears as the coffin stopped in front of the town’s war memorial.

Rifleman Allen, 20, of Verwood, a member of 2 Rifles, had proposed to his fiancée Karina the day he flew to Afghanistan.

He was killed by an explosion last Saturday while serving with 4 Rifles, only a few weeks after arriving.

His family attended a private service at RAF Lyneham yesterday but felt unable to watch the cortege.

He was a songwriter and a self-taught piano and guitar player and friends at the event said they hope to collect a CD of his music in aid of The Rifles Benevolent Fund.

Karl Howard, 18, who met Philip through skateboarding, said: “He was a like a big brother. When I broke up with a girlfriend or anything he was always there. He was absolutely determined to be in the army. The only thing that’s made this all seem real is seeing his face on TV.”

Brother Brad Howard, 17, said: “He had a random sense of humour. He was always making people laugh.”

Simon Peachey said: “He was someone you could always count on.”

The flag-draped bodies of Rifleman Allen and Rifleman Samuel Bassett, from Devon, were slowly driven up a hill and along the High Street to the sound of a single tolling bell.

A crowd made up mostly of residents and veterans lined the road, up to four people deep, for around 60-70 yards.

Lee Harvey, 20, from Weston-Super-Mare, was Philip’s roommate during training before he was medically discharged.

He said: “He was a professional. He was the only person at the end of the month who would have any money left.

“He would be up ironing while everyone else was in bed.

“His death has made me want to go out there even more.”

Corporal Gareth Williams, Philip Allen’s commander in a Fire Support Group, said: “He was a pleasure to work with.

“Seeing the amount of people here today is almost overwhelming.”

Some of the Royal British Legion members on parade had been to more than 20 repatriations. George Elliot, 68, from Broadstone in Poole, said: “This my first one.

“I felt I had to do it sometime and 2 Rifles were created from my former unit, The Royal Green Jacket, so I came out to show my respects.”

The Gillingham branch of the Devon and Dorset Regimental Association brought two standards.

Member William Davis-Sellick from Shaftesbury, 74, said: “We feel this is the least we can do to show our appreciation for the lads.”

Les Ball, 56, from nearby Melksham, was making his twelfth trip despite using a wheelchair due to a spinal injury.

He said: “These lads are the same age as me when I was in Northern Ireland and it could have been me.”

Rifleman Allen was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for a post mortem and an inquest will be held later.