A British soldier killed in an attack on a convoy in southern Iraq was named yesterday as Lance Corporal Alan Brackenbury.

L Cpl Brackenbury, 21, from Goole, East Yorkshire, died when a roadside bomb exploded near the flashpoint town of Al Amarah, in the country's Maysan region on Sunday, as troops travelled to a meeting with Iraqi security officials.

Four other soldiers were injured in the blast.

L Cpl Brackenbury, who is survived by his father Stephen, mother, Janet, brother, David, and sister, Faye, was serving with the King's Royal Hussars.

Mr Brackenbury said his son "loved being in the Army - it was all he had ever wanted to do".

He added: "Alan was immensely proud to be a soldier and we were immensely proud that he was a soldier.

"It is some comfort to us, as we grieve for Alan, that he died doing what he loved so much."

L Cpl Brackenbury joined the Army in 2000 and was promoted to Lance Corporal in 2005.

Commanding Officer of the King's Royal Hussars, Lieutenant Colonel Toby Bridge, described L Cpl Brackenbury's death as a "desperate loss" and paid tribute to him as a "man of the future".

"L Cpl Brackenbury lived life to the full," he said.

"Above all, we will remember his tremendous sense of humour, and fun, and his willingness to try something new.

"L Cpl Brackenbury was hugely popular and a real contributor to whatever he undertook. His death will be felt by all those who have been privileged to serve alongside him."

L Cpl Brackenbury's death brings the number of British soldiers who have died in Iraq since March 2003 to 88.

Fifty have been killed in action, and the rest have died in accidents, of natural causes or in circumstances still under investigation.