Soldier Tasered by police was being harassed, inquest hears

In 2007, Spencer Beynon spoke with BBC Wales about his experiences in Iraq

An ex-soldier who died after being Tasered by officers "suffered a campaign of harassment" by police in the years leading up to his death, his father has told an inquest.

Platoon Sgt Spencer Beynon, 43, from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, died after officers were called in June 2016 over concerns about his behaviour.

He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after tours of Afghanistan and Iraq.

An inquest is taking place in Llanelli.

The jury was told he had been discharged from the Royal Welsh Regiment on medical grounds.

• Ex-soldier Spencer Beynon 'declined mentally before death'

Dyfed-Powys Police officers responded to a report from a neighbour on 14 June 2016 of a man walking down a road barefoot holding a cannabis pipe, and found Mr Beynon in a nearby street with a neck wound.

He collapsed after being hit with a Taser, with officers claiming they had deployed the weapon after he had shown "aggression" towards them.

Mr Beynon died near his home in Llanelli

Christopher Beynon, his father, said in the 18 months prior to his death, officers had repeatedly searched his son's home, causing severe damage to the windows and doors of the property on one occasion.

Mr Beynon said he believed his son's mental health was improving, and that he had become interested in Buddhism and was "more placid".

But on the day he died, Christopher Beynon said he arrived home at about 09:30 to find his son behaving "absolutely nuts".

"He was shouting at the top of his voice: 'I love you, I love you, I'm going to make you proud'," he said.

"He got down into a prayer then got up and tried to exorcise the devil from me. His mood changed, and a blackness came over him."

'Worst thing'

After his son left, Mr Beynon said he called 999 asking for him to be detained under the Mental Health Act while his wife went out to look for him.

He said he believed the police then told "a catalogue of lies" about what had happened, including saying his body had already been taken by an ambulance when it remained under a sheet in the road.

Describing his son's problems following his return from the war zones, Mr Beynon said: "Anyone who has lived with PTSD knows it's a horror show. It was for him, and for me, his mother and sister.

"He was screaming, crying, punching the walls, and locking himself in his room for days on end."

A statement from Mr Beynon's girlfriend Victoria Key, who has since died, was also read out.

In it, she said he began acting strangely a couple of days before he died, saying he saw the devil in people, as well as their dog.

The inquest continues.