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| Deepcut inquest: Army recruits 'took illegal drugs' | Deepcut inquest: Army recruits 'took illegal drugs' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Army recruits were left running around taking illegal drugs and drinking while under age, an inquest into the death of a teenage soldier has been told. | Army recruits were left running around taking illegal drugs and drinking while under age, an inquest into the death of a teenage soldier has been told. |
| The court heard of chaos and lack of supervision at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey, where Pte Cheryl James, 18, was found dead from a single bullet wound. | The court heard of chaos and lack of supervision at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey, where Pte Cheryl James, 18, was found dead from a single bullet wound. |
| WO1 Sarah Ditchfield, who trained with Pte James, admitted taking illegal drugs with recruits at a nightclub. | WO1 Sarah Ditchfield, who trained with Pte James, admitted taking illegal drugs with recruits at a nightclub. |
| She said Pte James had taken speed, a class B amphetamine. | She said Pte James had taken speed, a class B amphetamine. |
| "If she went out she would take something, she would take speed," WO1 Ditchfield told Woking Coroner's Court. | "If she went out she would take something, she would take speed," WO1 Ditchfield told Woking Coroner's Court. |
| "We were 17-year-old kids who had money in our pockets, there was nothing else for us. | "We were 17-year-old kids who had money in our pockets, there was nothing else for us. |
| "There wasn't enough NCOs (non-commissioned officers) to control the amount of recruits they had at the time." | "There wasn't enough NCOs (non-commissioned officers) to control the amount of recruits they had at the time." |
| Pte James, from Llangollen in Denbighshire, was one of four recruits to die from bullet wounds at the base between 1995 and 2002. | Pte James, from Llangollen in Denbighshire, was one of four recruits to die from bullet wounds at the base between 1995 and 2002. |
| An initial inquest into her death in 1995 recorded an open verdict but that was overturned by the High Court, which ordered the new hearing. | An initial inquest into her death in 1995 recorded an open verdict but that was overturned by the High Court, which ordered the new hearing. |
| Who were the Deepcut four? Background to the deaths and timeline of events | Who were the Deepcut four? Background to the deaths and timeline of events |
| WO1 Ditchfield broke down in tears as she recalled being told about her friend's death and said Pte James's boyfriend Paul Wilkinson was "in bits". | |
| She also spoke about Pte James having a second relationship with another recruit, James Carr-Minns. | |
| "I don't think she wanted to let anyone down...and found herself in a situation where she didn't want to finish with one of them," said WO1 Ditchfield. | |
| Another former Deepcut recruit Marina Fawcett told the inquest Pte James was desperate to leave the Army and had asked her to go AWOL (absent without leave) with her. | |
| "It was more than a passing comment because it was what she wanted to do," Ms Fawcett said. | |
| On another occasion Pte James "joked" about killing herself, she added. | |
| "She literally mentioned 'we're going to shoot ourselves on guard duty one day aren't we?' and I said yes," Ms Fawcett said. | |
| "She was saying it as general banter... I don't know why she said it, it just sounded like a laugh like when someone says something stupid." | |
| Ms Fawcett said one of the training sergeants "had a bit of a thing" for Pte James and "basically wanted to get it on with her" but she turned down his advances. | |
| "She said he was horrible," she said. | |
| "They (the senior officers) were on a power trip and they got a buzz off it." | |
| Pte James had been called a "slag" by fellow trainees, the inquest heard. | |
| Ms Fawcett said that on the morning of Pte James's death they had an argument about her love life. | |
| "I might have been winding her up but I knew in a couple of minutes she would be fine," she said. | |
| "That was the last time I seen her. We were all in the guard room and she just seemed her normal self, she seemed fine." | |
| The inquest continues. |