Female bomb disposal soldier killed in Afghanistan

Captain Lisa Head

A female British soldier has died in a UK hospital after being injured clearing roadside bombs in Afghanistan.

She was Captain Lisa Head. Captain Head served with an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment.

She's only the second British service woman to have died as a result of serving in Afghanistan.

The 29-year-old died in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham yesterday after being emergency airlifted to Britain.

She had been in Helmand Province for just three weeks. On Monday she and her team were disposing of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in an alleyway in the dangerous Nahr-e-Saraj District.

Captain Head successfully rendered a first IED safe, but was fatally injured while dealing with a second device, British Armed Forces media reported.

Her family say they're extremely proud of Lisa.

They say she had a fantastic life and lived it to the full and that no one was more loved.

Her Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Adam McRae, says she will be remembered as a passionate, robust and forthright individual and the dangers did not faze her. He says her sacrifice will inspire others to follow her example.