THE next-of-kin of three York servicemen who died in Afghanistan are set to be invited to a commemorative service to be held at St Paul's Cathedral.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced in the House of Commons yesterday that the service to mark the end of Afghan combat operations will take place in the capital on March 13 and will be attended by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

He said: “This is an opportunity for the country to pay tribute to the extraordinary contribution made by all those who served in Afghanistan over 13 years.

“Their mission has helped prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base to launch attacks on us here at home, and they have enabled Afghanistan to begin the task of looking after its own security in the years ahead."

Those invited will include the next of kin of the three servicemen from York who made the ultimate sacrifice, Marine David Hart, Trooper Ashley David Smith and Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton.

Matthew's father Phil welcomed news of the service, and said that he and his wife Jill would intend to attend it.