A TEACHER who was killed in a suicide bombing in the United Arab Emirates has been brought back to Sixpenny Handley for burial.

Jonathan Adams died in Qatar on March 19, when a car bomb was detonated near the British school where he taught.

Mr Adams, who was in his 50s, was directing a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the time.

His wife, Rosemary, was one of the first to reach him.

Twelve others were injured in the blast.

Mr Adams had been working in Doha for three years, teaching English grammar at the department of drama and arts at Qatar Academy.

The Cambridge graduate had also taught in Sri Lanka and had helped mobilise $20,000 for relief work in Sri Lanka following the Boxing Day tsunami.

But he had strong links with Dorset and the family is well known in Sixpenny Handley, where he once owned a house.

His sister, also called Rosemary, lives nearby and his late mother lived in Wimborne St Giles for a while. Jonathan's brother, Michael, worked for St Giles' farms for a time.

Mr Adams was a keen student of Islamic culture and civilisation, of which he is said to have had a deep understanding.

Students at the academy are quoted as saying, "We lost a father-figure and a friend".

Noreen Westcott, a colleague from his days at Borden Grammar School, Kent, where he taught for 17 years, said he had tremendous knowledge and had helped many youngsters.

Ms Westcott said he had been close to being hurt by a bombing in Sri Lanka but had died, ironically, in Qatar, which seemed much safer.

There was a private cremation and Mr Adams' ashes were interred last week in the churchyard at Sixpenny Handley where his parents are also buried.

A service of thanksgiving for his life will take place later in the year.