Inquest Into Soldiers' Deaths After Firing Range Incident Set To Open

An inquest into the deaths of two soldiers who were fatally injured at a firing range will open later this week.

Corporals Matthew Hatfield and Darren Neilson, both serving with the Wiltshire-based Royal Tank Regiment, died from the injuries they suffered at the Castlemartin Ranges in Pembrokeshire on June 14.

The Ministry of Defence said two other soldiers were seriously injured in the incident at the training base, which is used to carry out direct-fire live gunnery exercises with tanks and armoured units.

A 48-hour worldwide ban was subsequently imposed on the ammunition which had been fired during the fatal training exercise.

The inquest into the deaths of Cpl Hatfield and Cpl Neilson, who had both served in Iraq and Afghanistan, will open in Birmingham on Friday.

The deadly incident came five years after Ranger Mike Maguire was shot in the head while relaxing at a safe location outside Castlemartin.

A 2013 inquest into his death heard the soldier was hit in the temple by a single bullet after live machine gun fire was wrongly directed inland towards the safe haven.

The inquest jury ruled Maguire, a member of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, was unlawfully killed.