An heroic soldier from Lincoln who was killed after defusing 13 Taliban bombs in 36 hours has been honoured by the Queen.

Captain Dan Shepherd, 28, of the Royal Logistic Corps, was killed while attempting to disarm an improvised explosive device at Nad-e-Ali in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, in July last year.

He has now been posthumously awarded the George Medal and is one of only two men to be given the honour.

The gallantry honour was granted for personally clearing 13 devices from a drugs bazaar without the use of a bomb disposal robot, protective suit or specialist electronic equipment in the hours before he died. And much of his work was done while under sporadic enemy fire.

His medal citation reads: "He was an inspiration to his team. His personal actions directly and demonstrably saved the lives of innumerable Afghans, coalition and British forces before he made the ultimate sacrifice."

His funeral at Lincoln Cathedral was afforded full military honours .

It had been rumoured earlier this week that Capt Shepherd, a former North Kesteven School pupil, would be granted the George Cross, the highest gallantry honour handed down to military personnel for "acts of bravery not in the face of the enemy".

The award was given to Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, 30, and Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes, 30 for their bravery on the front line.

For more, see Saturday's Echo.