THE last British serviceman to depart Camp Bastion has arrived home safely in the UK - clutching the base's Union flag.

Wing Commander Matt Radnall, 42, returned to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire from Afghanistan yesterday with the last British troops, marking the end of the 13-year campaign.

Speaking ahead of his departure from Afghanistan earlier in the week, Wg Cdr Radnall said: "It has been an extraordinary morning. It started very early and it was full-on from the word go. The adrenalin is still flowing. That is the highlight of 24 years with the RAF Regiment without any doubt."

At the peak of the Afghan campaign, there were 10,000 British personnel in Helmand, together with 20,000 United States marines, Danes, Estonians and other nationalities, and Camp Bastion had a perimeter of 22 miles.

The conflict against the Taliban insurgency saw 453 UK service personnel lose their lives.