A soldier from Folkestone has been selected to carry the FA Cup at this year’s final.

Private Ryan Copping MC, who serves with the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, will carry out the FA Cup before the match and then present it to the Royal Box post-match at Wembley.

Pte Copping, 22, was presented the Military Cross by the Queen for bravery after the armoured vehicle he was driving came under fire in Basra in 2006.

Private Copping said: “I am thrilled to have been selected and excited as well as honoured at the prospect.”

Pte Copping has served with 1 PWRR for four years and works for the Army Recruiting Team in London. He will return to the German base of 1 PWRR in July next year.