Mine soldier had 'faulty' armour

The trooper was on top of the Land Rover providing machine gun cover

A Territorial Army soldier from Devon was killed by a landmine explosion in Afghanistan, an inquest has been told.

Trooper Jack Sadler, 21, was serving with the Honourable Artillery Company when he was killed in the blast in Helmand Province on 4 December 2007.

The Exeter inquest heard he was wearing faulty body armour and a helicopter took 42 minutes to rescue him.

But pathologist Dr Nicholas Hunt said neither factors probably contributed to his death.

A post-mortem examination showed Trooper Sadler died from multiple injuries to his body, head, neck and lower limbs sustained in the blast.

The head and neck injuries would have been ultimately untreatable and unsurvivable Dr Nicholas Hunt

He was knocked unconscious but survived for a while before he was pronounced dead at Camp Bastion hospital.

Alan Hepper, an armourer based at Porton Down, told the inquest the back plate worn by Trooper Sadler was faulty and was not properly fitted.

In a statement read to the inquest, Dr Hunt said: "The time for the helicopter to reach him would have made no material difference to the outcome.

"The head and neck injuries would have been ultimately untreatable and unsurvivable."

When asked if wearing a neck brace could have saved Trooper Sadler's life, he added: "There is no system an operationally deployed soldier can wear that could protect from this type of injury."

The reservist was providing machine gun cover in sentry position on the top of the Land Rover during a reconnaissance patrol checking routes for an impending operation.

The convoy was crossing a dried river bed, known as a wadi, when the unit heard the explosion and thought it was under attack.

The inquest heard from fellow soldiers who were on patrol with Trooper Sadler and thought they had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

L/Sgt Glynn Bellman told Exeter Coroner's Court he heard an initial "pop" before a much larger explosion left him "engulfed in smoke and flames".

Values praised

He added: "It's fairly hazy. The vehicle tilted to the right. My initial reaction in a split second was that we had burst a tyre.

"The next thing I knew the main explosion had gone off. I was unconscious for about 20 to 30 seconds, I hit my head, then came round face down next to the vehicle.

"There was smoke and fire going off so I thought the enemy were trying to follow up but it was our ammunition going up."

Trooper Sadler was the first reservist from London's Honourable Artillery Company to be killed since World War II.

He was described by his commanding officer, Lt Col Alastair Caie, as a "lion away from home" who lived his life fully and "courageously gave it in defence of his values".

The inquest continues.