Iraq sniper round pierced helmet

Rifleman Coffey came under attack on patrol in Basra

A Devon soldier shot in the back of the head while on patrol in Iraq was wearing a helmet that could not protect him from sniper fire, said a coroner.

In a narrative verdict Dr Elizabeth Earland accepted that Daniel Coffey's helmet was not designed to protect against small arms fire.

No helmet could achieve such a task and be practical, she said.

The Rifleman , from Cullompton, died in February 2007, the 133rd British serviceman to die in the country.

The inquest had earlier been told that Rifleman Coffey was in an armoured Bulldog vehicle in Basra when he was killed.

He was providing "top cover" for the patrol, standing with his head and shoulders exposed outside the hatch of his vehicle while keeping watch.

Blair challenged

He died when a 5.6mm round, which could have been fired from up to 100 yards away, hit his helmet.

Rifleman David Spence, also "top cover" in Rifleman Coffey's Bulldog, said a round was fired at their patrol when they stopped at a police station.

Rifleman Spence said they re-boarded their vehicles under cover of smoke grenades and their Bulldog was stoned by teenagers and children.

Describing how their convoy slowed to a stop, he said: "I heard a loud crack, a high velocity shot."

He then saw that Rifleman Coffey had been shot.

After the inquest, Rifleman Coffey's grandfather David Godfrey said: "If the Government intend to put our valuable human assets at risk of death and injury in the name of freedom and democracy then they should be fully equipped to do so.

"The Armed Forces of Great Britain cannot be expected to function as a force for good unless they have proper provision and protection to do so."

He also called on Tony Blair to donate the proceeds of a single speaking engagement to an Armed Forces charity.