Sgt Gavin Hillier shot dead by soldier with 'poor eyesight'

Sgt Gavin Hillier had served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan during his Army career

An army sergeant was shot and killed when he was mistaken for a target by a soldier with "poor eyesight", an inquiry has found.

Sgt Gavin Hillier died during a live fire exercise at Castlemartin base in Pembrokeshire on 4 March 2021.

The inquiry found a contributory factor was that the soldier, referred to as Guardsman 1, was not wearing prescription lenses at the time.

But the report went on to say that he did not have service-issued spectacles.

The inquiry ruled Sgt Hillier's death was as a result of several "deviations from policy and actions" rather than a single factor.

His family have previously said they were "heartbroken" by his death.

Sgt Hillier, from the 1st Battalion the Welsh Guards, had served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan during his career in the Army.

The report said, given entries in Gdsm 1's medical records, the panel was "content that Gdsm 1 was aware that they needed corrective lenses to meet the entry standards of the Foot Guards".

"The panel therefore deduced it was highly likely that Gdsm 1 understood the requirement to wear corrective lenses."

However, it went on to say that the panel was able to determine that Gdsm 1 did not have "service issued spectacles".

"Their medical records did show the requirement for the individual to wear corrective lenses, however there was no way of relaying this information to the CoC [Chain of Command] within the bound of medical confidence."

'Avoidable risk'

The report went on to say that "placing the responsibility on individuals to ensure that they are medically fit to conduct safety critical duties is an avoidable risk".

"The chain of command must be afforded more awareness, within the bounds of medical confidentiality, to manage those under their command who need corrective lenses," it said.

The Castlemartin Range is one of a dozen Army training estates in the UK

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The report said Gdsm 1 was approximately 290m [951ft] from the target but given their "uncorrected VA [Visual Acuity] they would have seen this target in the same detail as someone with normal vision would have seen it at 1,740m [5,709ft]".

The report added that in the opinion of an ophthalmologist, the Guardsman's "blurred vision, caused by the low light conditions... would have caused significant disorientation, further exacerbated by the featureless landscape".

"The panel assessed it likely that Gdsm 1 mistook Sgt Hillier for the SFT [Switch Fire Target]," it said.

"The panel concluded that not wearing their prescribed corrective lenses significantly impacted Gdsm 1's ability to identify, acquire and subsequently engage the correct target.

"The panel finds that Gdsm 1 not wearing their prescribed corrective lenses was a contributory factor."

Sgt Hillier had been providing safety supervision during live fire training as part of Exercise Dragon's Revenge.

The report made a number of recommendations, including that officials "should establish an assurance mechanism to ensure that relevant individuals are wearing corrective lenses prior to live firing".

In concluding the report, Air Marshal Steve Shell, director general of the Defence Safety Authority, said he offered his sincere condolences to Sgt Hillier's family, friends and loved ones.

An Army spokesperson said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family and friends of Sgt Gavin Hillier at this sad time.

"We are supporting the ongoing investigation into the incident which is being led by Dyfed-Powys Police so it would be inappropriate to comment further."

Dyfed-Powys Police said: "The criminal investigation, run jointly with HSE, remains ongoing whilst we await further expert evidence.

"No arrests have been made. We continue contact with the coroner on progress and with the family of the deceased."