THE haunting melody of the Last Post echoed round a Dales village today as Union Jack flags fluttered at half mast for the military funeral of a local hero.

The poignant anthem was played by a lone bugler to honour Private Matthew Haseldin as he was buried in Giggleswick.

The military funeral of the 21-year-old, killed while on duty in Afghanistan, brought the communities of Settle and Giggleswick to a standstill as family, school friends and army colleagues gathered at the Church of St Akelda’s to honour him.

More than 500 schoolchildren, some just a few years younger than Pte Haseldin, lined the streets of the town and watched in silence as his coffin made its way to the same church he was baptised in as a baby.

With shops and businesses closed for the lunchtime service, hundreds of mourners crammed into the building to pay their respects to the soldier, shot in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand on November 3.

Fellow soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment carried his coffin with his medals, belt and beret laid on top, and his parents Alan and Jill walked closely behind.

During the service, led by the Rev Giles Allen, his uncle Barry Thompson said he remembered him as a football-mad teenager who loved Manchester United.

He said: “He was always very competitive. He wanted to be the best at whatever he did and I have no doubt this is how he served his brief time in his job in the British Army.”

He also spoke of Matthew’s time as a football referee and the two years he spent in Cyprus as a hotel entertainer where he made many friends.

In a tribute to his friend, Ben Wallbank said he had joined the army just nine months ago ‘to see the world and protect the country’.

“He was always very cheery. Even at 7.30am Haseldin would be singing along to his iPod on the way to college.

"People will remember him as a cheeky, funny young lad.

"Goodbye our brother, we will always love and miss you,” he said.

He then asked mourners for an applause rather than a minute’s silence, which was met with thunderous clapping heard by the crowds outside the gates.

Anne Michelmore-Brown, head teacher of Giggleswick Primary School, also read the poem ‘A Child On Loan’.

Speaking after the service, his training officer Captain Neil Cooke said: “He was phenomenal; a lovely boy and selfless to his core.

"It’s been humbling to see the turnout for him, it is a fantasic farewell.”

His coffin was carried out by six of his school friends to the Katy Perry song Firework, a favourite of his because of the lyrics ‘Come on show them what you are worth’.

A private burial for close family took place after the service in the churchyard with a three volley salute.