SIMON Hall, the Oxfordshire man shot dead in Iraq last Friday while working for a private security firm, served in the British Army during the first Gulf War against Saddam Hussein.

Mr Hall, 39, who lived with his wife Sarah and two children in Dean, near Chipping Norton, had returned to Iraq as a civilian security guard with Securiforce International and was killed in what was believed to have been a drive-by shooting by terrorists.

His body is expected to be brought back to Britain in the next few days.

His friend Nick Potter, who lives in Charlbury, where Mr Hall and his family lived for many years, said Mr Hall was an Army man through and through - he helped with Army Cadets, was a member of the Charlbury branch of the Royal British Legion, and had served with the Royal Artillery in Northern Ireland, Germany, in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and with the United Nations in Cyprus.

Mr Potter, a former Major in the Army, who lives in Lees Rest, said: "He decided to leave the Army about 10 years ago and, like a lot of us who go from school to the Army, he wanted to have a go in civilian life. He became a member of the adult staff with the Oxfordshire Army Cadet Force and had a job, I believe, in computers.

"He had an active civilian life but I think he wanted to use his military experience to encourage the youngsters - he had started in cadets himself."

About five years ago, Mr Hall became involved in private military companies after seeing advertisements seeking people with previous experience in the armed forces.

But Mr Potter said Mr Hall was also a "country boy at heart", who loved the countryside, was a devoted father to his two children, and helped organise the Charlbury Riverside Festival.

Mr Hall was one of five people working for Securiforce International who were in a vehicle which came under attack at a border customs point, near Safwan, in southern Iraq, at about 11am local time on Friday. Three other people were wounded in the attack, which is being investigated by Iraqi police and by Securiforce.

In a statement from Securiforce, Colonel Steven Thomas said that Mr Hall and all five in the vehicle were unarmed and Mr Hall was killed by a gunshot wound. Mr Hall's family learned about his death on Sunday.

In a statement yesterday, they said: "Following the awful shock of Simon's death, his wife Sarah and all his family would like to thank everybody for their concern and sympathy, but ask that they be left in peace to mourn and remember him."

In the village of Dean, residents spoke of their shock at Mr Hall's death.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "He was a nice man, but we never saw much of him. He was away a lot. It's such a shame, what with him having two kids."

Friend and former publican Gwyn Osbourne, who lives in Charlbury, said: "He was a super guy, he was a great friend and we will miss him an awful lot."