A soldier from Middleton has been killed in a tragic accident in Iraq.
Twenty two year old Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington was serving with the 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster’s regiment.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed last night that the death in the rural district of Taji, north of Baghdad, was “not the result of enemy activity”. An investigation is under way and the soldier’s family have been told they added.
A spokesman from the MoD said: “The death occurred in Taji, Iraq, following an incident that is currently under investigation, but we can confirm that it was not as a result of enemy activity.”
Taji, twenty seven kilometres north of Baghdad, is home to Camp Taji, also known as Camp Cooke, which is a coalition forces base.Lance Corporal Hetherington was the first British soldier to die in Iraq for eight years.
The Duke of Lancaster’s regiment form part of a five hundred force who are training Iraqi and Kurdish forces in combating Islamic State action and are providing protection to other British troops who are training local security forces in infantry skills, weapons maintenance, medical, engineering and counter-IED (improvised explosive device) measures.
They are based at Weeton Barracks, Lancashire, near Blackpool.
Lieutenant Colonel Rob Singleton, Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, said:
Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington was a superb soldier and a first class leader. Utterly professional and talented, he was full of character, fun and his enthusiasm was infectious. The Battalion has lost a huge talent and a real character. He will be missed dearly and we will never forget him. Our hearts go out to his parents, his siblings, his girlfriend and his young daughter. They are in all of our thoughts.
Lance Corporal Lynch, Force Protection Platoon, Blenheim Company, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, said:
“Snowball was a top bloke. You could always count on him to have a laugh, and he always had an answer for everything. He was such a big character. He will be greatly missed by the whole Battalion.”
According to his Facebook page, Scott was a former student at Middleton Technology College.
