Tributes have been paid to a father-of-three from Sutton Coldfield who died in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq.

Security worker Colin Cope was working in the Umm Qasr area of Basra for UK-based private company, the Armor Group.

He was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle on Saturday while protecting reconstruction convoys in the war-torn Middle East country.

Mr Cope, 38, who lived in Worcester Lane, Four Oaks, had been due to return home in two weeks. He had been with the company for a year, setting up its network in the south of the country after a distinguished Army career in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and Iraq.

His distraught widow Colette said: "The whole family is incredibly proud of him and he was much loved."

Mr Cope, who previously served as a corporal with the Royal Green Jackets, also leaves three children, Daniel, Natasha and Caitlin. Daniel and Natasha are pupils at the Arthur Terry School, in Years 11 and 8 respectively, while eight-year-old Caitlin is a pupil at Little Sutton Primary.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said yesterday it was aware of Mr Cope's death in southern Iraq.

A spokesman for the Armor Group said: "Colin was killed in an insurgent attack while leading his convoy team on operations. His professionalism was reflected by his team, despite their loss.

"He was a professional, kind hearted, genuinely nice man who will be sorely missed by his friends and his colleagues."

The Armor Group has provided protective security services to government and commercial clients involved in the reconstruction process in Iraq since 2003.

Mr Cope was described yesterday as a "larger than life" character by his former teacher, who is now head at The Arthur Terry School.

Christopher Stone said: "Colin was a pupil at my first school in Andover, Hampshire, when I was his PE teacher. He loved outdoor pursuits and I took him for field studies such as canoeing.

"Colin was a lovely lad, full of life, and subsequently went into the Army. The family came up here a few years ago and I think he wanted his children to come to Arthur Terry."