Deepcut army barracks failed in its duty of care to young recruits, a coroner looking into the death of a soldier found shot has said.
Pte Cheryl James, 18 was found dead with a bullet wound to the head in 1995. She was one of four recruits to die at the base in seven years.
Coroner Brian Barker QC said it was regrettable there had not been a more thorough investigation at the time. «This has been a long and a difficult exercise,» he said. «Many events since the autumn of 1995 have had to be examined.»
Mr Barker said there were far too few officers at the Surrey Barracks to train and look after the young squaddies, who were left bored and indisciplined. «While some intermittent training was provided, there were too few permanent staff to deliver it and put into place a structured regime to occupy and meet a duty of care to those young men and women.»
Pte James, from north Wales, had been carrying out lone guard duty at the barracks when she was found dead, which the coroner said military rules should not have allowed. «It seems to me that lone armed guard duty is a potentially dangerous activity,» he said.
Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) meted out guard duty to trainees as punishment, which was against army rules. There was also overwhelming evidence of a «sexualised» atmosphere at Deepcut, Mr Barker said.