TRIBUTES have been paid to two British servicemen shot dead by members of the Afghan police force.

Lance Corporal Lee Thomas Davies, 27, from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed alongside Corporal Brent John McCarthy, 25, of the Royal Air Force, at a patrol base in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province on Saturday.

The servicemen were providing security for a meeting with local officials when two people wearing Afghan police uniforms opened fire.

Cpl McCarthy's family said in a statement: "Brent was a loving, sensitive young man. Brent will be sadly missed, not only by us but also by his loving partner Sarah and her devoted family."

Lieutenant Colonel Dino Bossi, Commanding Officer Police Mentoring and Advisory Group, 1st Battalion The Welsh Guards, said: "Lance Corporal Lee Davies loved being a soldier. It was who he was."