The body of a former soldier who died in Ukraine has finally been flown home.
Groom-to-be Jay Thorn, from Wark near Hexham, had been working in the war torn country to train soldiers when he was killed in a car crash, on May 21. He was just 36 years old.
Jay's fiancee Louise Lathbury faced a long wait for his repatriation as the collision was investigated by Ukrainian officials.
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But now his body has finally been returned to the UK.
Louise is now faced with the heartbreaking task of planning a funeral for the man she had planned to marry.
But after several of Jay's military comrades contacted her offering to carry his coffin at the service, she says the tragedy has made her realise just how loved her partner was.
Louise said: "Some of his friends from when he was in the Army want to be the pallbearers. It's really touching. They have been amazing, I have never met them before but they have been really really good.
"Everyone seems to call him their brother. Everyone saw him as a brother."
Jay, who had been a fusilier for eight years, travelled to Ukraine to do humanitarian work after the war started, in February 2022.
Louise said he then found work helping to train the Ukrainian soldiers desperately trying to defend their homeland from Russia's invasion.
The Foreign Office confirmed that Jay's death was not thought to be connected to the ongoing war.
Louise is now waiting for the local coroner to release Jay's body so she can finalise the arrangements for his funeral.
"We are just waiting for the coroner in this country to finalise the paperwork then we can arrange the funeral," she said. "We are preparing for the funeral but we can't confirm any dates yet.
"It will be at Newcastle Crematorium, on West Road. It will be a humanist funeral, it will be all about Jay and
More than £18,000 was donated to an online fundraising page Louise set up to help cover the costs of Jay's repatriaton.
Any money left over will be donated to charity.
