Soldier's pub friends raise cash - BBC

Click for the BBC video

Regulars at the favourite pub of a soldier killed in Afghanistan have raised more than £40,000 for an injured soldiers' charity.

Drinkers at the Malt Shovel in Baildon have been raising money for the Help For Heroes charity since the new year.

Twenty-two year old Jordan Rossi, a regular at the West Yorkshire pub, was killed while clearing explosives in Helmand on Saturday.

Friends paid tribute to Jordan describing him as "a brilliant guy".

Best friend, Bobby Burdess, said Jordan was always sending him messages online, counting the days until they could drink together in the pub.

He said: "It still hasn't sunk in properly yet. I think about him all the time, I think about his family."

Jordan was a sapper in the 38 Engineer Regiment, and was the second British serviceman killed near Sangin in two days.

Sapper Jordan Rossi killed in Afghanistan

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sapper Jordan Rossi of 25 Field Squadron, 38 Engineer Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 23 May 2009.

Sapper Rossi was killed following an explosion near Sangin in Helmand Province.

He was part of a Royal Engineers Search Team embedded in the Joint Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group providing close support to 2 RIFLES Battle Group and was working in an operation to clear Improvised Explosive Devices that were posing a lethal threat to both British Forces and the local Afghan population.

Despite his significant determination to survive the explosion and the heroic efforts of his team mates and the Medical Emergency Response Team, Sapper Rossi was pronounced dead soon after arrival at the UK Hospital in Camp Bastion.

Sapper Jordan Rossi

Sapper Rossi was aged 22 and came from West Yorkshire. He joined the Royal Engineers on 6 June 2006 and following his basic recruit training he attended further courses to qualify as both a Combat Engineer and a Military Engineer Bricklayer and Concreter.

Posted in October 2007 to 38 Engineer Regiment, Ripon, North Yorkshire, he completed a construction task in Northern Ireland and then deployed to Kenya in support of 3 SCOTS (The Black Watch) Battle Group. On return to the UK he participated in the regimental move to a new permanent base at Massereene Barracks, Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Following a period of intense training Sapper Rossi, or simply 'Rossi' as he was known to most of his friends, deployed to Afghanistan as an Advanced Searcher within the Joint Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group. His role was to support Improvised Explosive Device Disposal operations and provide a High Assurance Search capability to Task Force Helmand; a role in which he thrived immensely.