TRIBUTES have been paid to Flt Lieut Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, the first British servicewoman killed by enemy action abroad since the Second World War, who came from Kent.

Flt Lt Mulvihill, 32, was one of five people killed when their helicopter crashed over the southern city of Basra in soutern Iraq.

Sources in Iraq say there were clashes in the city on Saturday and that the Lynx helicopter they were in had been shot out of the sky.

Flt Lt Mulvihill was a former pupil at Barton Court School in Canterbury and her parents live in Herne Bay where she was brought up.

She was stationed at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire where she worked as a flight operations officer.

Grp Capt Duncan Welham, her station commander, said: “Sarah-Jayne was one of the Royal Air Force’s finest: courageous, upbeat and unselfish. She was a dedicated officer who will be missed by us all.

“There was nothing that she would not tackle and her contribution to all aspects of life and work was actively sought, valued and appreciated.”

Flt Lt Mulvihill, who was married to an RAF officer Lee Mulvihill, was on her second tour of duty to Iraq.