Former soldier shot dead in Iraq

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A former Scots Guards soldier has been shot dead in Iraq while working for a private security firm.

Darren Bull, 34, from Preston, Lancashire, was escorting UN convoys across the Falluja region when he was shot on Friday, his partner confirmed.

The father of one, known to friends as "Bully", was due to return home to see his five-year-old daughter and 13-year-old stepson on Monday.

Mr Bull, who was born in Chorley, joined the Army when he was 16.

His partner of eight years, Julie Hensby, said: "I'm devastated. Everyone always said he was a soft, gentle and shy man.

"He wasn't like what you'd expect from someone in his jobs.

"We'd been so looking forward to having him home again. I was scared for him out there - it was on my mind all the time."

Mr Bull served in the Scots Guards for five years, and worked as a bouncer at the Yates pub in Preston city centre before taking the job in Iraq last year.