“PEOPLE need to recognise the sacrifice soldiers like my son have made”.

Mandy Rawstron’s son Jason was shot dead by a Taliban fighter whilst on routine patrol in the Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on September 12, 2008.

Now Mandy, of Clayon-le-Moors, has urged people to show line the streets and support our soldiers at the homecoming parade in Blackburn on Wednesday December 1.

She said: “These soldiers are out there fighting for this country and it is only right that everyone in the local community should come out and show their support.

“Jason would be over the moon if he saw everyone cheering the soldiers on and it would mean a lot to me because I want those who lost their lives to be remembered.”

Private Rawstron, 27, was just over a month away from coming home at the end of a six-month tour of duty with the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment when he was killed.

She added: “It will never be easy without Jason and I am reminded of my loss everyday because it’s always in the news.

“But if people come out then it will show the families who have lost someone that their sacrifice has not been forgotten.”

The 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment will first be honoured at a homecoming service at Blackburn Cathedral.

Then, in full uniform 120 soldiers will then exercise the regiment's right under the Freedom of the Borough to march through town.

1st Battalion Duke of Lancaster Regiment is made up of 600 soldiers, around a quarter of whom are from East Lancashire.

The battalion consists entirely of frontline fighting troops, and much of its work in Afghanistan has been patrolling recently secured Taliban territory.

Soldiers returning from Afghanistan are due to receive their Operation Service medals in Catterick next month.

There will also be parades through other major recruiting areas such as Manchester, Warrington, Lancaster and Carlisle.

The last time soldiers marched through Blackburn was in October 2001 when the former Queen's Lancashire Regiment celebrated the Freedom of the Borough, which was awarded in 1948.