Pair jailed for murdering British soldier in street attack

Two men caught on camera shaking hands shortly after murdering Britain's youngest soldier to serve in Afghanistan have been jailed for life.

CCTV captured Liam Laing and Connor Hammond congratulating each other after launching an unprovoked attack on Dave Curnow in his home town.

Mr Curnow, 20, was on leave in Redruth, Cornwall, where he had been spending the evening with his girlfriend and friends on September 20 last year.

Two years earlier, he had became Britain's youngest soldier in Afghanistan after surviving a six-month tour of Helmand province shortly after his 18th birthday.

The young soldier was attacked by Laing and Hammond, both 21, outside a kebab shop in the early hours of September 20.

CCTV showed Mr Curnow being punched, kicked and stamped upon.

The victim, who served in the 4th Batallion, The Rifles, was found unconscious on the ground following the assault at 2.45am.

Mr Curnow's jaw was broken in two places while an artery that supplied blood to his brain was damaged.

He was taken by ambulance to the Royal Cornwall Hospital before being transferred to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where he died the following day.

Laing, of Chacewater, Cornwall, previously pleaded guilty to murder at Truro Crown Court.

Following a two-week trial, Hammond was convicted by a jury of the same charge on Wednesday.

Hammond admitted punching the soldier after wrongly accusing him of hitting his girlfriend but denied kicking him and said he did not intent to cause Mr Curnow serious injury.

Earlier in the trial the court heard the duo had killed Mr Curnow in a "team effort" of "unnecessary violence" and they had already started trouble at the Cornish nightclub, The Zone, before their encounter with the victim.

The pair were jailed for life, with Laing to serve a minimum of 13 years and Hammond a minimum of 16.