Ben Mullany, aged 31, died yesterday after being critically injured in the shooting in Antigua in which his new doctor wife Catherine, also 31, died instantly.

Ben suffered a fractured skull and had a bullet lodged in the back of his head following what is believed to have been a bungled robbery in the couple's room at the Cocos Hotel on July 27.

A joint funeral may be held at the church where the couple married three weeks ago, it was reported.

Ben joined South Yorkshire Police as a probationary constable in March 2004 and was based at Ecclesfield before leaving in December 2004 without completing his training.

He used to live in Sheffield with ex-girlfriend Rebecca Gosling, 29, but left the city in 2004 after the pair broke up.

The couple met during a student working holiday in the US in 2001 and Ben, from Wales, moved to Sheffield with Rebecca. The former soldier began a career with South Yorkshire Police but didn't enjoy the job.

Rebecca, from Sheffield, who now lives with her new partner and their six month old baby said: "He excelled but he was unhappy even after the first few days in the job. He couldn't cope with the pressures of the job and dealing with the reality of human misery everyday."

She said Ben quit the force after telling a mum her son had died of a drug overdose because he could not stand being the bearer of tragic news. He left the police and the couple, who had got engaged, separated with Ben returning to South Wales.

Rebecca said former soldier Ben had been shot in Northern Ireland and was awarded a medal for NATO peace-keeping work in Sarajevo.

READ MORE
More Barnsley news
More Doncaster news
Main news index
Your letters.
Features
Check out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic section
Latest sport.