ONE of the two Royal Marines killed on patrol in Afghanistan was from Essex, the Ministry of Defence said.

Marine Georgie Sparks, 19, of Epping, and Marine Tony Evans, 20, of Sunderland, were both of 42 Commando Royal Marines.

They were taking part in a foot patrol north-west of the town of Lashkar Gah in the southern area of the Helmand province when they came under sustained enemy fire.

They were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades while on the roof of a building, and died from their injuries while being flown back to Camp Bastion by helicopter.

The deaths bring the total number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in 2001 to 128.

Marine Evans joined 42 Commando after completing his training in July 2007.

The 20-year-old's parents, Tony Evans and Julia Churchill, paid tribute to him, saying: "Tony was the type of person who would do anything to help his friends and family and was well respected by all.

"The Royal Marines was his life since the age of 13 when he became a Royal Marines cadet. We, his family, are very proud of what he achieved and will miss him dearly."