AN inquest heard today how a Runcorn soldier Col Sgt Martyn Horton died in a car crash in Afghanistan.

A loud bang and a cry of "We're going in" were heard in the moments before an armoured vehicle rolled into a canal in Afghanistan killing four of its occupants, an inquest has heard.

Col Sgt Martyn Horton, Lance Corporal David Ramsden, Private Douglas Halliday and Private Alex Isaac - all from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), were killed in the incident near Gereshk in Helmand province on June 23, 2010.

 

The soldiers were members of a police advisory team and were travelling as part of a two-vehicle convoy when their vehicle, a Ridgeback protected patrol vehicle (PPV) driven by Lce Cpl Ramsden, rolled into the Nahr-e Bughra canal.

 

David Ridley, coroner for Wiltshire, described how the incident happened as the vehicle was travelling to an incident at police checkpoint five (CP5).

 

He said: "The lead Ridgeback vehicle had just passed over a bridge, a loud bang was heard followed by someone shouting 'We're going in'."

 

He described how the vehicle then rolled down a steep bank and the four men did not survive the incident.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Dupuy, who was the commanding officer of the Gereshk operation co-ordination centre district (OCCD) and whose task was to liaise with and mentor local police, described Gereshk as a busy city which was an important logistical hub for the local population.

 

He said his role was to train the local police force, which included setting up the advisory team which was commanded by Col Sgt Horton and included the other three deceased.

 

He said: "It had been described to me as incredibly dangerous where Gerensk was seen as a potentially difficult situation."

 

He said the risks included improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide bombers and direct attacks. His role was to help build relationships with the local police force which had 240 officers and up to 20 checkpoints.

 

He said: "There were significant challenges, one of these challenges was the police force was not a coherent organisation."

 

Lt Col Dupuy said that he was aware that the route to CP5 was an "obvious target", but his team had been unable to find alternatives because of the size of other roads and paths and their mud or wooden bridges.

 

He said that in the days prior to the incident there had been "increased pressure" in the area of CP5 with intelligence they had received suggesting it was under imminent threat of attack.

 

The advisory team had visited CP5 on the morning of June 23 but the area was quiet. They were then asked by the Afghan National Police (ANP) to return again that evening following a further attack.

 

He added: "We had received intelligence there would be an attack on CP5 that day, although the intelligence was not of a good quality there was a continuing vibe that something was happening."

 

It was as the two vehicles headed to this second "significant incident"

of three explosions and "considerable ongoing" automatic gunfire that the incident happened at about 9.40pm.

 

He said: "It wasn't the first time and they were deployed to do their job."

 

Lt Col Dupuy said that he was aware of a previous IED attack on a Ridgeback which had caused the vehicle to go into a canal and he had advised his team to keep the back hatches open when travelling near water.

 

He added that he had reminded soldiers to wear seatbelts while travelling in the vehicles. He said that prior to 2010 the situation in Afghanistan was "chaotic", but he praised his team on their work to improve the working relationship with the local security forces.

 

He said: "We had an enormous challenge, the security situation in Gereshk was deteriorating, it was the second biggest risk after Sangin and Sangin was pretty bad at that time. It was pretty high on the risk radar, the resources weren't there.

 

"We were given a pretty significant challenge and what was achieved and what the police advisory team achieved was quite staggering as the level of trust achieved meant they could get teams out on patrol, but it was based on trust."

 

Colour Sergeant Horton, 34, from Runcorn in Cheshire, joined the Army in

1992 - seeing service in Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Belize and Kenya, and on operations in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

He was promoted to Colour Sergeant in June 2009, when he assumed the role of Reconnaissance Platoon Second-in-Command.

 

Following his death, his sister Caroline paid tribute to the loving father, brother and son, saying: "We will miss his cheeky grin. He will be fondly missed by everyone he knew and sadly died doing the job he loved. Once met never forgotten.''

 

Lance Corporal Ramsden was 26 and from Leeds. He joined the Army in 2002 and served on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

He left the Army in 2007 to pursue a career as a civilian, but became a Reservist and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 to advise the Afghan police.

 

Paying tribute after his death, his family said: "David lived life at 1,000mph. He loved Army life and his job, and as a teenager was in the Army Cadet Force.

 

"Although we didn't see much of him due to Army life, when he arrived back his personality lit up a room and we knew he was home and we will miss him so much."

 

Private Douglas Halliday, 20, from Wallasey in Merseyside, joined the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) in 2008 and served in Northern Ireland, Kenya and on operations in Afghanistan.

 

His family said: "Dougie was deeply loved by all of his family and friends for the love and laughter that he brought into their lives.

Dougie was always the life and soul of the party and will be missed by all. We are all extremely privileged to have shared his short life."

 

Private Isaac, 20, was from the Wirral and also joined the Army in 2008, serving in Kenya and on operations in Afghanistan.

 

After his death, his mother Annette said: "My beautiful darling son who was a fighter, and so brave, you will always be in my heart, my soul and my thoughts. God bless."

 

An inquest into the death of a Runcorn soldier who died when his armoured vehicle plunged into a deep canal in Afghanistan four years ago starts today.

Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton was travelling with Lance Corporal David Ramsden, Private Douglas Halliday and Private Alex Isaac, all from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, when they were  killed in the incident near Gereshk in Helmand province on June 23 2010.

The soldiers were members of a police advisory team and were travelling as part of a two-vehicle convoy with the Afghan National Police on their way to attend an incident at a police checkpoint when their vehicle rolled into the Nahr-e Bughra canal.

Colour Sergeant Horton, aged 34, from Runcorn in Cheshire, joined the Army in 1992, seeing service in Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Belize and Kenya, and on operations in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was promoted to Colour Sergeant in June 2009, when he assumed the role of Reconnaissance Platoon Second-in-Command.

Following his death, his sister Caroline paid tribute to the loving father, brother and son, saying: "We will miss his cheeky grin.

"He will be fondly missed by everyone he knew and sadly died doing the job he loved. Once met never forgotten.''

Lance Corporal Ramsden was 26 and from Leeds. He joined the Army in 2002 and served on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

He left the Army in 2007 to pursue a career as a civilian, but became a Reservist and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 to advise the Afghan police.

Paying tribute after his death, his family said: "David lived life at 1,000mph. He loved Army life and his job, and as a teenager was in the Army Cadet Force.

"Although we didn't see much of him due to Army life, when he arrived back his personality lit up a room and we knew he was home and we will miss him so much."

Private Douglas Halliday, aged 20, from Wallasey in Merseyside, joined the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment in 2008 and served in Northern Ireland, Kenya and on operations in Afghanistan.

His family said: "Dougie was deeply loved by all of his family and friends for the love and laughter that he brought into their lives. Dougie was always the life and soul of the party and will be missed by all. We are all extremely privileged to have shared his short life."

Private Isaac, aged 20, was from the Wirral and also joined the Army in 2008, serving in Kenya and on operations in Afghanistan.

After his death, his mother Annette said: "My beautiful darling son who was a fighter, and so brave, you will always be in my heart, my soul and my thoughts. God bless."

The inquest, held at Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner's Court, is expected to last until November 20.