Two men appeared before magistrates in Truro today (22/9) charged with the murder of a 20 year old soldier who had served in Afghanistan.

Connor Hammond, 21, of Trenoweth Estate, Redruth, and Liam Lang, 21, of Brookside, Chacewater, were arrested and charged on Monday following the death of a man named locally as Dave Curnow from Redruth.

Mr Curnow was found by a member of the public, unconscious on the floor in the Chapel Street area of Redruth in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro with serious head injuries, before being transferred to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where he died on Monday.

Mr Curnow is understood to have been born in Chesterfield before growing up in Cornwall, where he was a pupil at Pool Business and Enterprise College.

After graduating in 2011 he joined the 4 Rifles regiment and had served a tour in Afghanistan.

He was also a footballer, with Redruth-based West Cornwall FC paying tribute on Facebook to "one of the clubs most promising young talents" and "an amazing human being."

The club wrote: "A huge loss to the West Cornwall family, his country and to everyone who knew him. There aren't enough words to express how we are all feeling but the amazing messages on social media today are a testament to the number of lives that Dave touched.

"The clubs thoughts and wishes are obviously with Daves family, girlfriend and close friends at this time. Rest in peace our teammate, friend and hero."

Detective Chief Inspector Mike West, deputy head of major crime, said: “Offences like this are exceedingly rare in this area.

“We are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident at this time.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed a disturbance outside The Zone nightclub on Chapel Street in Redruth, or was in the area between 2.30am and 3.30am, to call 101 or email 101@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, or via crimestoppers-uk.org