AN ARMY Major from Kent has been critically injured in a gun fight in Iraq.

The 1st Battalion Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment soldier, who has not been named by the Ministry of Defence, was flown back to Britain on Tuesday night on an emergency flight and taken to a hospital in Birmingham where his condition is described as serious.

The married man, whose family is believed to be based at Tidworth barracks, comes from the village of Eastry, near Canterbury, where his parents still live.

He was injured on Monday during a spate of gunfire with fighters loyal to the Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Another 1PWRR soldier, Pte Lee O'Callaghan, 20, was shot dead in the battle, which happened just four days before he was due to come home to Britain. He lived in Walworth in south London.

Pt O’Callaghan’s death follows that of Pte Gordon Rayment, a 22-year-old soldier of the same battalion, also from London. He was killed last week in a tragic accident when a security barrier fell on the vehicle he was travelling in.

Four other 1 PWRR soldiers were injured in the fighting on Monday but will be treated in Iraq.

The battalion has its headquarters at Howe Barracks, Canterbury, but is stationed in Tidworth.