Cpl Alexander Tostevin inquest: Military criticised over care

Cpl Alexander Tostevin served with the Poole-based Special Boat Service (SBS)

The mother of a special forces soldier who took his own life has criticised the support her son received from his unit, an inquest heard.

Cpl Alexander Tostevin, 28, who served with the Poole-based Special Boat Service (SBS), took his own life at his home in March 2018.

His mother, Alison Tostevin, told the inquest her son had struggled mentally since a tour of Afghanistan in 2010.

She said the military's care had been "casual and incompetent".

Giving evidence at the inquest in Bournemouth, Mrs Tostevin said her son had been placed on an informal "suicide watch" at the home of a special forces colleague and his wife a month before he died

"It wasn't good enough - they weren't qualified, and he didn't have any dignity, he didn't have anywhere to sleep, and he felt he was intruding," she said.

'You destroyed us'

She told the inquest she was "troubled and traumatised" that her son's chain of command knew he had been contemplating ending his life.

Cpl Tostevin, from Guernsey, had joined the Royal Marines at 18 and later passed selection for the Special Boat Service, completing an overseas operation with the unit in 2016.

Mrs Tostevin said her son had "changed" after returning from a tour in Afghanistan in 2010 and his mental health deteriorated.

He was mentioned in dispatches after being shot while providing covering fire to allow two comrades to get to safety.

Mrs Tostevin added: "He got more irritable. He was doing things out of character which were disrespectful. He was being silly with girls and money.

"His care was casual and incompetent, and you destroyed us now our son is gone."

The inquest continues.