Sentry death TA soldier 'was on last Afghan tour'

A Territorial Army soldier who volunteered to serve in Afghanistan was shot dead as he manned a sentry post, an inquest heard today.

Private John Brackpool, a father of one, from Crawley, died on 9 July last year, two days short of his 28th birthday. He was one of eight British soldiers killed in 24 hours in intense fighting aimed at driving back the Taliban in advance of Afghanistan's presidential elections.

In a statement after the hearing, Pte Brackpool's father Alan said his son, who had previously served in Iraq with the TA and in Kosovo as a regular soldier, had planned to make the six-month tour his last.

Mr Brackpool said: "John said that this would be his last tour, but knowing him it would be no surprise for him to do one more."

The hearing, at Horsham magistrates' court, was told that Pte Brackpool, of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was discussing what to have for dinner with a colleague when shots rang out. He had been on sentry duty at a compound near Char-e-Anjir in Helmand. A post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as gunshot wounds.