Ex-soldier dies in Iraq road bomb

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7093468.stm

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A former soldier working for a private security firm has died in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq.

Father-of-three Colin Cope, 38, from Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, was in a vehicle hit by a bomb near Um Qasr on Saturday.

Mr Cope, who was due to return home in two weeks, had been in Iraq for a year after 19 years with the British Army.

He was leading a team escorting convoys involved in reconstruction work in southern Iraq.

'Cruelty of life'

Chris Stone, the head teacher of Arthur Terry School in Sutton Coldfield, which is attended by two of Mr Cope's children, said he was "very much a family man".

Mr Stone said: "Everything he did was for his family and they loved him dearly as well.

"This is devastating for the family. They've lived with the fear of this for some time.

"With three young children they're just struggling to come to terms with the cruelty of life."

In a statement, the ArmorGroup said: "He was a professional, kind-hearted, genuinely nice man who will be sorely missed by his friends and his colleagues.

"His knowledge, skills and personality meant he was particularly suited to work as a Convoy Escort Team Leader."