Soldier died after banging his head in play-fight with comrades who sneaked in bottles of vodka to army training camp where 'drinking was encouraged'

A soldier died after he smashed his head on a concrete floor during a drunken play-fight with a comrade at an army training camp where heavy drinking was encouraged, an inquest heard yesterday. Private Steven Murray, 23, who had been drinking vodka sneaked into the barracks, suffered a fractured skull after he was grabbed by the legs and pulled to the ground whilst wrestling with best friend James Cox, 24, in front of fellow squaddies. Despite complaining of a sore head, feeling sick and showing a cricket-ball sized swelling to his temple, Pte Murray was allowed to go bed by senior officers after insisting he wanted to sleep it off. The alarm was raised at 5.30am the following morning when colleagues failed to wake him up, noticed he was not breathing and called for an ambulance to the Halton Camp near Lancaster.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2345649/Soldier-died-banging-head-play-fight-comrades-sneaked-bottles-vodka-army-training-camp-drinking-encouraged.html