A heroic former British soldier murdered while clearing bombs in Cambodia has been honoured - with a giant landmine-sniffing RAT.

Mine clearance worker Christopher Howes was killed aged 36 after being kidnapped by Khmer Rouge fanatics.

But to mark 25 years since his death, a huge rodent, trained to continue his bomb disposal work, has been named Howes in his memory.

The African pouched rat has been trained to sniff out explosives and just started her new job clearing the deadly legacy of the conflict in Cambodia.

Chris' sister Pat Philips described it as a "fitting tribute".

She said: "He was passionate about the landmine cause.

"He always assured us he was careful at his job and wouldn't be hurt, but murder was another thing.

"The void left in our lives by my brother's needless murder is undiminished. He had so much more to give. But to see his name and his life-saving work continue is a fitting tribute to a loyal, brave and exceptional man."

Chris, of Clevedon, Somerset, was kidnapped along with his team on 26 March 1996.

Alongside his colleague Houen Hourth, 19, he successfully urged the release of the team and the heroic pair offered to stay with their captors to secure their colleagues' freedom.

They were both murdered days later by Khmer Rouge guerillas.

They had been working with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning British landmine charity the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) at the time.

Chris, who served with the Royal Engineers for seven years before joining MAG, was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 2001.

His heroic work is now being continued by Howes, the HeroRAT, who has joined a team of landmine-sniffing rats working in Cambodia with the charity.

Howes was trained by APOPO, a Belgian charity that made news last year when its landmine-sniffing rat Magawa won a PDSA Gold Medal bravery award.

Magawa retired earlier this month.

Christophe Cox, APOPO's CEO, said: "She (Howes) is an African giant pouched rat perfectly suited to sniffing out landmines.

"Landmines remain as painful and dangerous reminders of the past. HeroRATs like Howes significantly speed up landmine detection using their amazing sense of smell and excellent memory."