GLOWING tributes were paid to a soldier killed in Iraq at his full military funeral on Thursday.

All Souls’ Church in Cheriton, near Folkestone, was packed as the family, colleagues and friends of Corporal Matthew Cornish gathered to pay their last respects.

His wife Abby, 28, followed the coffin into the church, clutching the hand of the couple’s three-year-old son Ethan - who wore an England soccer strip.

Six colleagues of Cpl Cornish from the 1st Battalion The Light Infantry carried the coffin, which was draped with a Union Flag. Another six soldiers made up a firing party immediately outside the church entrance.

Around 40 soldiers who served with Cpl Cornish, 29, in Iraq came over to Kent to join other Army colleagues and senior officers in paying tribute to their fallen comrade.

His widow Abby and the couple’s two children Ethan and and 15-month-old Libby have been staying with Abby’s parents, Pete and Lynn, at their bungalow in Broadview, Cheriton since receiving news of his death.

They returned there from their Army home in Germany to be comforted by their family.

Cpl Cornish died on Tuesday, August 1, as a result of wounds sustained in a mortar attack in Basra.

During the service Cpl Cornish’s father Robin spoke of his pride in his son. He described him as a very professional soldier who loved being in the Army.

* For a full report on the funeral see next week’s Kentish Express.