He survived the horrors of Iraq with honours for bravery, but a Scots Guardsman could not survive an outbreak of random violence outside his mother’s house in a peaceful Scottish village.

Paul McGee, 28, died on Sunday after being stabbed as he went to help a taxi driver involved in an altercation in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire.

The soldier, still a member of the Scots Guards, was taken to Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, where he died a short time later.

Mr McGee had won the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery for his actions in Iraq and had returned to Scotland to serve in army recuitment.

A 28-year-old man appeared in court yesterday charged with murder.

A family friend was quoted as saying: “They are just devastated. Paul had been working in recruitment for the Army in Scotland and I think the family thought they could relax as he was safely away from danger abroad. Then this happened when he was visiting his mum. Paul was a really nice lad.”

Mr McGee was awarded a bravery medal in July last year after he risked his life trying to save Stephen Ferguson, a fellow soldier, while on patrol in Iraq. Guardsman Ferguson, 31, of 1st Battalion Scots Guards, was trapped underwater inside a Warrior armoured vehicle when it slid into a canal near Basra in December 2007.

Mr McGee twice dived underwater in the dark to try to save his comrade. He and other soldiers freed Mr Ferguson from the vehicle and gave first aid. The soldier was flown back to Britain for medical treatment but died of his injuries.

Mr McGee’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln Jopp, said: “The whole of the Scots Guards family has been shocked by the tragic death of one of its heroes. He was a superb guardsman and as brave as they come.

“The citation for Guardsman McGee’s award highlighted ‘his extraordinary determination, his bravery and his complete lack of regard for his own safety in the face of the most difficult conditions’.

“At the time of his death Guardsman McGee was doing vital work recruiting for the Scots Guards in Glasgow. He was showing that he had a real talent for the job and was an inspirational example to potential recruits of what a career in the regiment could offer.

“The men of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards and the wider regimental family join me in sending our sincerest and most heartfelt condolences to Paul’s mother Anne, his sister Kelly and his family and friends in Lochwinnoch. We honour our fallen.”

On Mr McGee’s social networking site a friend wrote: “Rest in peace, you were a brave and precious young man stopped in your prime.”

The man who appeared in court yesterday was Ian Wallace, of Johnstone. He is alleged to have stabbed the soldier repeatedly.

Mr Wallace is alleged to have assaulted another man at the same time. He made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody.

Police said yesterday that a second 28-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the death. He is expected to appear at Paisley Sheriff Court today.

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