A coroners’ court heard that an investigation into the death of a man from Bardwell who died in Iraq in 2021 is ongoing.

On Friday, the inquest into the death of Todd McCulloch from Bardwell in west Suffolk was suspended at Suffolk Coroners’ Court in Ipswich.

Mr McCulloch was working as a close protection officer for the Australian Embassy in the capital of Baghdad when he died on December 15, 2021, at the age of 30.

The court heard that on the day of his death, Mr McCulloch and a colleague were in the loading bay area of Australia’s diplomatic support centre. The pair were carrying out safety checks on the firearms deployed there.

After carrying out these checks, Mr McCulloch’s colleague, who was standing beside him, heard a loud bang. He turned, and saw that Mr McCulloch had fallen to the floor. The court heard that a handgun was found beside him.

Mr McCulloch was transported by ambulance to the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Centre’s hospital, but died as a result of his injuries.

The court heard that Suffolk police has commenced an investigation.

A pre-inquest review is expected to be carried out on November 19.