Traffic warden beaten half to death outside wake for soldier killed in Iraq

A second man has been arrested over a violent attack on a traffic warden as he issued a ticket outside a wake for a British soldier killed in Iraq.

The attendant was punched, kicked, glassed and hit round the head with a motorbike helmet close to the Gardeners Arms pub in Battersea.

Inside the pub, a wake was being held for 21-year-old Lance Corporal James Cartwright, who was killed in Basra after his Warrior vehicle slid off a bridge and into the canal on 16 June.

The warden, believed to be in his 30s, was airlifted to hospital after the incident at 3pm yesterday and is today stable.

One 23-year-old man was arrested at 8pm last night, and a 22-year-old man later handed himself in. They remain in custody.

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Mourners, who had attended the funeral at St Luke's Church, rushed to help the warden, who worked for Wandsworth Council, as he lay bleeding in the road. Two men fled on a motorcycle after the attack. L/Cpl's family said the attackers were not soldiers or relatives. His mother, Diana Fitzgibbon, said: "We don't know what was going on outside.

"I've just buried my son, I was there trying to remember him with the rest of my family and had no idea what was going on."

One of L/Cpl Cartwright's uncles added: "The people who did this are scumbags and I hope they get 20 years in jail.

"Were they showing off in front of all those soldiers? They ran off. Cowards isn't the word."

"A fellow Iraq veteran, who described himself as a good friend of L-Cpl Cartwright, said: "The pub was heaving because there were about 200 of us. I was outside talking when this parking attendant walked up to a big silver 4x4 that was half on yellow lines.

"He said someone needed to move it or he'd give it a ticket. The lads said, 'Have a bit of heart, it's a funeral' but the warden insisted because it was illegally parked. This young lad walked up to him and smashed the warden in the face with a pint glass. His hat fell off and as he bent over to pick it up he was kicked in the face. Another mourner grabbed that lad.

"But then someone else swung a motorbike helmet down on the guy's head three times."

Mourners, who had attended the funeral at St Luke's Church, rushed to help the parking warden, who was lying bleeding in the road.

One of L-Cpl Cartwright's uncles added: "The people who did this are scumbags. They'd scared the warden off and he was just walking away when they set on him. Did they think they were hardnuts? Were they showing off in front of all those soldiers? All I know is they ran off. Cowards isn't the word."

L-Cpl Cartwright, who went to Honeywell School and Southfields Community College, had planned to leave the Army shortly and move to Leicestershire with his fiance, Natalie Richardson, to become a fireman. The couple lived close to the Gardeners Arms as did L-Cpl Cartwright's parents and his three younger sisters.