Dead soldier’s father sets himself alight

A DISTRAUGHT father set himself ablaze moments after he learned that his first-born son had been killed in combat in Iraq, police said yesterday.

Three Marine officers arrived at the Florida home of Carlos Arredondo, 44, yesterday to break the news that his son, Private First Class Alexander Arredondo, 20, was dead.

Within seconds, Mr Arredondo walked outside, smashed the windows of the Marines' van, doused it with petrol and climbed inside clutching a propane tank from the garage, a police spokesman said.