Deepcut Soldier Would Get "Frustrated", Inquest Hears

An inquest into the death of a soldier Private Sean Benton has heard how he would get "frustrated" and shout out at his commanding officers during drill at Deepcut Barracks, Surrey.

The Private was found with five gunshot wounds to the chest in June 1995, shortly after being told he was to be discharged from the Army.

Ryan Cook, who is still serving in the military and trained with Private Benton at Pirbright and Deepcut Barracks, described Sean as a "good friend" and a "funny guy".

He recalled the atmosphere at Deepcut as very different from Pirbright where they completed phase one training.

Mr Cook said Deepcut was "mentally and physically tough" and for Sean some things there were not so easy for him to take on.

He remembered that Private Benton struggled with drill, where he would get "frustrated" and shout out "once or twice" at his commanding officers.

Mr Cook told the court that during the first day of training, recruits at Deepcut were made to crawl through mud while wearing their uniforms, for what he described as "for no reason".

He also talked about a Sergeant Andrew Gavighan, whom he described as having a "split personality", "like having an evil twin who would get angry for no reason".

He went on to say the Sergeant would pull Sean up on his uniform, and that the Private got "more than his fair share".

The court also heard that Sean had wanted to be a driver, but had failed his test twice which made him unhappy.

Mr Cook then talked about the amount of guard duty at Deepcut, and said that the two hour stints in isolated locations "were too long" and "could get you down".

Another witness, Neil Williams, told the inquest that Private Benton was a friend of his who had been bullied, and described how the both of them were kicked in the head while wearing their helmets.

This led to Private Benton putting up a "smirk of defiance", Mr Williams said.

He went on to recall that that Sean told him a week before his death that "something big was going to happen".

Mr Williams then looked back to the night before Private Benton's death, and said he had noticed nothing unusual about his friend's behaviour.

He then told the court that on the morning of Sean's death, he and other recruits were told to clean the area where Private Benton's body was found and to look for spent cartridges, one of which was recovered and given to an officer.

The inquest continues.