THE funeral of York war hero Matthew Hatton will be held in the city’s Minster next week.

Lance Bombardier Hatton, 23, became York’s first victim of the war in Afghanistan when he was killed in a double-explosion in Helmand on August 13.

He was injured in an initial blast and, while trying to reach a helicopter landing site, was caught in a second explosion.

His funeral service will take place in the Minster at 2pm on Wednesday.

The Lord Mayor of York, Coun John Galvin, the Lady Mayor, the Sheriff and her consort, will attend, while a number of veterans are also expected.

Meanwhile, an inquest into the death of Lance Bombardier Hatton was opened in Salisbury yesterday.

The deputy coroner for Wiltshire, Peter Hatvay said the post-mortem examination gave a provisional cause of death as being “blast injuries caused by an explosion”.

The inquest has now been adjourned while a date is fixed for a hearing.

The body of the Haxby war hero was flown back to England from Afghanistan last week.

In an increasingly familiar site, people gathered in their hundreds in the small Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett, to pay final respects to Lance Bombardier Hatton and his two colleagues, Rifleman Daniel Wild, 19, and Captain Mark Hale, 42, as their military cortege passed through the town.

Among those lining the streets of the small town to pay tribute to the fallen heroes were Lance Bombardier Hatton’s grandparents, Roy and Margaret Carter, his aunts Sandy Phillips and Stephanie Houghton, and his 20-year-old cousin, Sarah Phillips.

His girlfriend, Tasha Chehab, paid a moving tribute to him on a page she created on social networking web site Facebook.

She wrote: “I now know you have gone, but never will I forget you. We are soul mates and you will always be the love of my life. We have memories that will never be forgotten. I love you with all my heart my darling Matthew.”