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POPULAR: Steven Jones.

A FORMER paratrooper kicked to death in a ferocious street attack "didn't have a bad bone in his body" his grieving family have said.

Steven Jones, who lived and worked in Droitwich Spa, died from his injuries after 16-year-old James Simpson kicked and stamped on his head at the end of a night out.

Mr Jones, aged 33 and a father-of-two, had taken his ten-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter to visit their granny in Dundee.

He had then gone out with a friend for the night when he was confronted by the teenager in the city's Dens Road. Doctors compared the head injuries Simpson inflicted to the results of a head-first fall from a building or a motorbike smash without a crash helmet.

Mr Jones died in the early hours of Sunday, July 29, 2007.

Last Thursday, Simpson was convicted of culpable homicide at the High Court in Edinburgh - an offence similar to the English charge of manslaughter.

He was cleared of murder after jurors decided he was provoked by a blow from a beer bottle by Mr Jones' friend.

The trial heard that Simpson, who had spent the night drinking cans of lager on waste ground, had been giving snide' looks to passers-by. But witnesses were unable to say why he knocked Mr Jones to the ground, kicked him and stamped on his head.

After the trial, Mr Jones' partner, Diane Harper, 32, said: "We wanted a murder conviction, but we got the next best thing. Steven didn't have a bad bone in his body.

"He wasn't the sort to go on a night out and start trouble. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She also said Mr Jones, a sales support manager for Droitwich firm the Roger Dyson Group, was a popular member of the company. "Everybody loved Steven. He was a hard-worker, he was a grafter," she added.

Tributes were also paid to Mr Jones by managing director Roger Dyson, who said he had worked at the company for 12 years.

Mr Dyson said: "It's a terrific loss. He was a very popular, likeable guy.

"He was committed. He enjoyed coming to work and cared for his young family very well. It's so sad."

Mr Dyson said about 40 employees had travelled to Scotland to attend the funeral of Mr Jones, a former part-time firefighter and Territorial Army para, last year.

Simpson, of Loganlee Terrace, Dundee, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.

10:31am Monday 19th May 2008

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