Mother questions soldier's armour

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The mother of a Leicester soldier killed in Afghanistan has questioned the effectiveness of his body armour at the inquest into his death.

Private Chris Gray, 19, of the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, was on patrol in Helmand province when he was shot by an insurgent in April 2007.

Pte Gray was shot in the lungs and heart, leaving him with "unsurvivable" injuries, the inquest heard.

A verdict of unlawful killing while on active service was recorded.

Helen Gray said unless a soldier's side was protected it would happen again.

Pte Gray's mother, Helen Gray asked a representative from the Ministry of Defence: "Why isn't the side protected?"

The inquest was told that to protect the side of a soldier's body would make the armour very heavy and would inhibit mobility.

"Then something needs to be done....it will happen again," Mrs Gray said.

The inquest in Loughborough heard the Leicester-born serviceman's comrades tried valiantly to save his life.

'Outstanding' skills

Pte Gray had been carrying out a routine patrol with his platoon in Now Zad when the company was ambushed by the Taleban.

Sent as part of a "fire team" to outflank the enemy, the soldiers were making their way through an orchard when they came across the Taleban.

Section Commander Robert Moore said: "We knew the enemy were very sneaky and that they would never come up from where you expect them.

"As we moved forward, from the left-hand side, through a break in a wall, we saw four Taleban walking from that direction. They definitely didn't know we were there. They had a mixture of weapons."

Pte Gray had been chosen as "point man", to spearhead the team, because of his "outstanding" soldiering skills, the MoD said.

"At that point, I didn't have to say anything to Chris," Corporal Moore said.

"He opened fire and I opened fire."

Bravery award

But the team then came under attack and as he and Pte Gray retreated, both were shot, the inquest heard.

Reinforcements arrived on the scene and as the two sides exchanged fire, Pte Gray's fellow company members tried to treat him in a dip in the ground.

Asked by Mrs Gray why her son had been made point man, Cpl Moore, who was shot in the arm during the fighting, said: "I gave him point because he was a very good soldier.

"And he had the fastest firing weapon and I just wanted that punch at initial contact."

Pte Gray received a posthumous commendation for bravery.

Recording a verdict of unlawful killing while on active service, coroner Trevor Kirkman said: "Christopher died in the service of Her Majesty The Queen as a member of the Army.

"Of course, we all understand the risks that that involves but it does nothing to remove the sense of tragedy in every individual case that occurs."

Asked after the inquest about Mrs Gray's concerns over the body armour, Captain Ian Robinson said the battalion were the "best protected soldiers in the British Army" when deployed to Afghanistan.

Christopher Gray was only 19