A LOUD bang was heard moments before an armoured vehicle rolled into a canal in Afghanistan, killing four of its occupants, including a soldier from Otley.

Lance Corporal David Ramsden, 26, from the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, lost his life in the incident near Gereshk, in Helmand, on June 23, 2010.

Three other soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton, Private Douglas Halliday, and Private Alex Isaac, also died.

The men were members of a police advisory team travelling to provide support to Afghan policemen who had come under Taliban attack.

An inquest which opened at Salisbury this week heard that there was a loud bang and a cry of “We’re going in” as the 18-tonne Ridgeback vehicle left the road and plunged into the Nahr-e-Bughra canal.

Survivor Private Michael Peers, in a statement read to the court, described how they had been travelling fast, at night, towards the police checkout when he heard the noise and felt the troop carrier jolt.

He said: “The vehicle swerved to the left and then it flipped over to the right hand side.

“It lasted a couple of seconds and the vehicle was instantly submerged with water.”

Coroner for Wiltshire David Ridley said: “The lead Ridgeback vehicle had just passed over a bridge, a loud bang was heard followed by someone shouting ‘We’re going in’.”

After the noise, which may have been from a roadside bomb, the vehicle rolled down a steep bank and into the water.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Dupuy, who was in charge of liaising with and mentoring local police, said he was aware the route was an “obvious target” but his team had been unable to find suitable alternatives.

The team had visited the police checkpoint, which had been under increasing pressure, on the morning of June 23 and the area was quiet.

But they were later asked by the Afghan National Police to return that evening following a further attack.

It was as their two vehicles were heading out to offer back-up, at about 9.40pm, that the fatal incident happened.

The inquest continues.

Hundreds of people turned out to pay their respects to L Cpl Ramsden, and Otley town centre fell silent, when his funeral service was held at All Saints Parish Church in July, 2010. He was born and raised in the town, later moving with his family to Leeds.