Tributes to Londonderry soldier

L/Cpl Timothy Flowers was killed in Basra on Saturday

Tributes have been paid to a soldier from Londonderry's Waterside killed in Basra, southern Iraq.

Lance Corporal Timothy "Daz" Flowers, 25, who served with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, died on Saturday.

The Ministry of Defence said he was working on a vehicle when a rocket or mortar hit the Army's Basra Palace base.

Former teacher David Funston said he was "totally devastated by the news".

"I remember Darren as a very good student - he was a hard-working boy, he was a bright boy.

"He was very personable and very popular with his peers and it really grieves me to hear that he has lost his life."

'Body blow'

His commanding officer said his death had dealt "a body blow" to the company.

Major Fabian Roberts MVO, commander of the Irish Guards Company to which L/Cpl Flowers was attached, said: "He was ostensibly a quiet, modest man, who got on with his job with unstinting pragmatism and determination.

"Yet there was a depth to him intellectually and in his wider personality that made him full of surprises."

There are currently 5,500 UK troops serving in Iraq

L/Cpl Flowers' death brings the total number of British service personnel killed in Iraq to 163, with 127 of those killed in combat.

He was on attachment to the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said: "He was doing an important job with great skill and enthusiasm in challenging circumstances."

L/Cpl Flowers had already resigned from the Army by the time he arrived in Iraq.

His commander, Artificer Quarter Master Sergeant Lee, said: "It is testimony to the loyalty and courage of the man that he extended his service to see the job through, with his friends, regardless of his own personal situation."

He described L/Cpl Flowers as a "natural mechanic".

"He was at his happiest on the Tank Park, spanner in hand," he said.