FLORAL tributes have been laid in memory of Kent airman Marc Lawrence who died a year ago when two sea King helicopters crashed in an accident in the north Arabian Gulf during the Iraq war.

Friends and colleagues marked the first anniversary of the deaths of seven aircrew by placing flowers at a memorial stone at the 849 Squadron unit, Royal Navy Culdrose in Cornwall, where the 26-year-old Lieutenant, from Westgate, near Margate, and his colleagues were based.

The collision on March 22 last year happened above the HMS Ark Royal aircraft carrier as one helicopter was approaching and another was taking off.

An inquiry has yet to offer an official cause for the tragedy. Earlier this month the Lawrence family challenged Prime Minister Tony Blair to honour the 59 people from the UK who died in the Iraq war by publishing the legal basis for going to war.