Army bomb hero was killed by 'new type of device'

An Army bomb disposal expert did not have equipment to detect the new type of device which killed him in Afghanistan, an inquest heard today.

Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, 30, triggered a previously unknown sort of pressure plate developed by the Taliban in Helmand on October 31, 2009 - the day before he was due to fly home for two weeks' leave.

Colonel Bob Seddon, Britain's top bomb disposal officer, who resigned last year, told the inquest that it was "a constant battle to develop" equipment to deal with new threats.

S/Sgt Schmid was awarded a posthumous George Cross. Recording a verdict of unlawful killing, Cornwall coroner Emma Carlyon added that nothing in the Army operation that day could gave prevented the death of the para and commando-trained soldier.