Pte Hewett had five siblings

The service for 21-year-old Private Phillip Hewett was held on Thursday at St Editha's Church, in his home town of Tamworth in Staffordshire.

He was one of three members of the 1st Battalion of the Staffordshire Regiment killed in Al Amarah on 16 July.

Second Lt Richard Shearer of Nuneaton, Warks, and Pte Leon Spicer of Tamworth, both 26, also died in the attack.

At least 500 members of the public stood in silence outside the church as the coffin was borne into the church by a six-strong bearer party.

'Freedom and democracy'

The Rev Alan Barrett told the congregation - which included the dead man's parents Sue and Nigel, his four sisters and his brother - that he had given his life in an effort to bring peace and democracy to Iraq.

Paying tribute to Pte Hewett, the clergyman said: "Phil lived his life to the full.

"He always enjoyed everything he did and it's wonderful that he had so many good friends who loved him so deeply.

"Phil died on active service. People should be free to live to enjoy the fruit of their own labour - we call it freedom and democracy - and Phil and his colleagues were engaged on behalf of the nation in trying to secure peace, freedom and democracy for a nation."

The hour-long service was followed by a cremation ceremony in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

The funeral of Pte Spicer will take place at The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Glascote Heath, Tamworth, on Monday, 1 August.