A Dorset soldier has returned home safely from Afghanistan four years to the day his after Royal Marine brother was killed in action there.

Lt Ian Thornton, 29, walked through his front door in Ferndown last Friday in time to be with his parents as they marked the fourth anniversary of son John’s death.

Ian, 29, has just completed a six-month tour of duty with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment.

His proud dad Peter said: “We are incredibly proud of him and what he has achieved.”

Mum Linda added: “It has been tough while he’s been away but he is back safe and well, that’s all that matters. We just move on now.”

Ian told the Echo: “It was a weird one really. The day I came back from Afghanistan was the anniversary of the day John didn’t. I was chuffed to bits to get back in time.”

The family remembered John, drank a toast to him and celebrated Ian’s return at the Angel Inn in Ferndown that evening.

John, 22, of 40 Commando died on March 30, 2008 along with a colleague when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb.

His parents and close friends set up the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation later that year in his memory.

Of his own tour of duty, Ian said: “It was really hard work and we went through a lot as a company but I look back on it with immense pride over what we achieved. I think we really made a difference.”

There were numerous fire fights with the Taliban but also a lot of work with local communities who appreciated their help.

He paid tribute to the young men in his company, some as young as 19.

“They were going out there and putting themselves in great danger on a day to day basis but their spirits always remained high.”

Ian said one of his great incentives was that he was carrying on his brother’s work.

“It really spurred me on. It was the right time for me to go. I was fully focussed but at the same time very aware that I was following in John’s footsteps and helping to finish off his work. It was massively rewarding.”

He added: “It was undoubtedly much worse for mum and dad back home than for me out there.”