The dad of a soldier killed in Afghanistan refuses to accept "it's all for nothing" after the Taliban took control of Kabul.
Private Gareth Bellingham died aged 22 while he was with the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) after he was shot by insurgents while on patrol in Helmand province in June, 2011.
Gareth's dad Les Bellingham, from Clayton, said he had a "feeling of dread" at the current turmoil in Afghanistan – which has seen the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban seizing control.
The Taliban's offensive came as the US withdrew most of its troops from the country after 20 years. The majority of British combat troops left in 2014, with around 750 remaining to help train the Afghan military forces.
But Les says that while the events of the last few days have brought him and his family pain, he still feels pride at the job Gareth and his fellow Staffords did in Helmand a decade ago, reports StokeonTrentLive.
He said: "We were shocked to hear about the latest news. I have to admit it did bring back some bad memories and a feeling of dread for any future families who may have to endure the torture which we and so many other families have had to endure.
"Our soldiers made the best of a bad job and they conducted themselves with professionalism and bravery. I hope it doesn't come to that again.
"I can not honestly say that it does not hurt to think all the lives lost and injuries sustained were not necessary.
"But they were all doing their jobs. Yes it is painful and I hate the pain it gives me. But I will not believe that it was all for nothing."
The Staffords were deployed to Helmand in 2011 as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
As well as being involved in combat operations against insurgents, the British troops were also there to help train up the Afghan army and police.
On the morning of June 11, 2011, Gareth's C Company and an Afghan National Army unit carried out a patrol near Khar Nikar, in the Upper Gereshk Valley.
During the patrol, a local Afghan was injured by an improvised explosive device, and C Company came under fire from insurgents. Gareth was fatally wounded.
Following his death, Gareth's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Giles Woodhouse, described him as an "extremely hardworking and committed warrior" who had developed a "genuine affinity" with his Afghan Army partners.
There have been 456 British military deaths in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion, including 405 as a result of hostile action.
