The mother of a soldier shot in Iraq has told of her anguish on the day of the inquest into his death.

Sergeant Paul Connolly, 33, of Crawley, was found dead from a bullet wound to the head at the Shaibah base, near Basra, on Boxing Day 2004.

His mother Helen, 53, of Tatham Court, Crawley, still does not know how he died, although a Royal Military Police investigation has not revealed any hostile action or suspicious circumstances.

She is hoping today's hearing in Oxford will give her family some answers. She said: "Although this is going to be some sort of closure, it will never be a proper end to it.

"I love my son so much and I miss him every day. I wish I could have spent more time with him."

Father-of-three Sgt Connolly, nicknamed Billy, joined the Royal Engineers in 1989 and served as a metal worker. As a master welder he travelled throughout the world to Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, Canada, Kenya and Northern Ireland.

Mrs Connolly said the last time she spoke to her son was on Christmas Day 2004.

She said: "As far as I know he was not unhappy. There was some sort of argument with his fiance the day before but when I spoke to him on Christmas Day he seemed like his normal self. I remember joking with him that he was usually here to cook the Christmas dinner and now I was having to do it myself.

"He was a serious sort of person but he could be full of fun. He went out to Iraq in October 2004 and I think being out there had an effect on him. I do not think he liked being away from everybody. He liked to be surrounded by people, especially at Christmas.

"Two weeks after getting to Iraq they were bombed and they had only gone out there to make peace and build things for them."

Mrs Connolly makes weekly visits to her son's grave at Snell Hatch Cemetery in Crawley.

She said her son loved to spend time in her garden with his three children Sallyann, 12, Katie, nine, and Hannah, seven. He was separated from their mother Helen.

She said: "I am going to get a plaque made in his memory."