The son of a soldier killed in Afghanistan is having funds raised for him by Croydon cops in his father’s name.

Danny “Simo” Simpson was killed by insurgents while on a routine foot patrol near the town of Sangin in Helmand Province.

The 20-year-old father of one was injured in an improvised explosive blast and died from a second explosion, along with Rifleman Joseph Murphy, as he was being carried to safety.

When he heard about the rifleman’s death Sergeant Darin Birmingham from the Operation Aries gang unit started raising money for Mr Simpson’s eight-month-old son Alfie Simpson because “he should want for nothing”.

Sgt Birmingham, whose son is in the Royal Engineers, said: “Daniel Simpson gave the greatest sacrifice for this country and this borough should remember that. This heroic young man died for this country’s army and as such his son Alfie should want for nothing.”

So far, from staff at the police station alone, Sgt Birmingham has managed to raise nearly £600 and is calling on Croydon residents to dig deep and donate to a fund for the infant.

He said: “We are raising money for Alfie so he can have the same opportunities as other kids in Croydon.

"He only knew his father for eight months and that loss, at the moment, is being felt deeply by his family and friends.

"We just want Alfie to be able to do and have all the other things kids of his age do and this is in some small part a way of saying thank you.”

Debbie Simpson, Danny’s mother, said: “We have had an enormous amount of support from so many different people and this is just another thing we have to be thankful for.

“If this means that Alfie can join a football team and pay his fees or use it for his education then we will be very happy.

“At the moment we are just making the arrangements for Danny coming back to us.”

To donate to the fund please contact Sgt Darin Birmingham at Croydon police station on 020 8649 0195 or contact the Croydon Guardian on 020 8330 9558.

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