Blast killed Iraq convoy leader

A Shropshire security expert suffered horrendous injuries when shrapnel from a roadside bomb ripped through his armoured vehicle in Iraq, an inquest heard.

Richard Sedgley, 32, of Nook Lane, Loppington, near Wem, died almost instantly as colleagues tried to help him.

Mr John Ellery, Coroner for Mid and North Shropshire, passed on his deepest sympathies to Mr Sedgley's parents.

Michael and Hilary Sedgley, of Church Eaton, Stafford were too upset to hear much of the evidence at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court yesterday.

He recorded a narrative verdict that Mr Sedgley was killed in action by an improvised explosive device on October 8 last year.

Mr Sedgley had recently moved to Shropshire from Codsall, near Wolverhampton, with his partner.

He worked for the Olive Group, a private security firm which provides protection for workers rebuilding facilities in war torn Iraq.

The bomb was detonated 50 miles south of Camp Cedar between Basra and Baghdad.

Mr Sedgley was team leader of a convoy of three Mamba armoured vehicles - each armed with a roof mounted gun - returning from Basra Airport.

In a statement read out to the Shrewsbury inquest, Olive Group colleague Colin Goodman said he saw the lead vehicle, in which Mr Sedgley was a passenger, hit by an explosion to its left front tyre.

The driver brought it to a halt but shrapnel had punched holes through the armour-plating and reinforced windows directly where Mr Sedgley had been sitting, causing terrible injuries to his head.

Mr Goodman said the team's medic Michael Plyler had tried to administer care but it had been futile.

Mr Plyler, of Tennessee, USA, gave evidence personally to the inquest but broke down while reading his statement which was completed by the coroner.

"Richard died within seconds of my arriving. He was a good friend," he said.

Cause of death was recorded as traumatic head injury.

Another Olive employee suffered shrapnel wounds but has since made a full recovery.

After the hearing, Mr Plyler said: "This improvised bomb was something new for us. It uses sophisticated techniques believed to have been taught to Iraqi insurgents by the Iranians."

By Peter Johnson