A GULF War veteran who worked in Iraq after he left the Army has died in a hotel fire.

Father-of-three Roy Blair, of Ripon, was one of 29 people who died when fire swept through the five-storey Soma Hotel, in the Kurdistan region, last month.

A lack of emergency exists in the hotel is thought to have contributed to the high death toll following the fire on July 15.

A staff sergeant in the Royal Engineers, the 43-yearold had served in the Falklands, Kosovo, Bosnia and Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, before he retired from the Army and worked as an engineer.

He was made redundant last September and was unable to find work, despite applying for numerous jobs.

He took a job with a Canadian company and travelled to the Middle East on June 18 to supervise the building of a camp for oil industry workers.

Mr Blair left behind his wife, Olive, son Steven and daughters Casey and Nicola.

During nine months of unemployment, he was ineligible for financial help because of his Army pension.

Mrs Blair said: “I am angry that my wonderful husband, after 24 years in the Army, was forced to take employment abroad because he could not find work here or qualify for financial help after paying into the system all his working life.

“I want this to serve as a warning to other ex-servicemen taking employment abroad and raise awareness of the lack of safety standards in foreign hotels.”

A funeral service and celebration of his life will be held at Rudding Park Hotel, Harrogate, at 2.30pm on Monday.

Donations in lieu of flowers should be given to Help for Heroes.