A CORONER condemned the Army yesterday for allowing a lethal mixture of alcohol and firearms at a party which ended with two soldiers shot dead.

Corporal John Gregory, 30, from Catterick, North Yorkshire, fired up to ten rounds into Sergeant Robert Busuttil, 30, before turning his assault rifle on himself during a farewell barbecue at a camp at Kabul airport in Afghanistan last August.

At the inquest at Chippenham yesterday, Wiltshire coroner David Masters called on the Army to tighten its rules on alcohol and gun security. He said: "It has been said that alcohol and loaded weapons as a lethal cocktail just do not mix.

"This incident may be a one-off but my concern is to prevent it from becoming a two-off, a three-off or more."

The inquest heard how the party for Cpl Gregory deteriorated into a drunken fight between the two after soldiers flouted a ration of two cans of beer each.

At the end of the three-day inquest, Mr Masters recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on Sergeant Busuttil, of Swansea, and a verdict that Corporal Gregory killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed.

The inquest heard that the pair, both of the Royal Logistics Corps, based at Marne Barracks, Catterick, were part of a British Army contingent on peacekeeping duties.

The coroner was told how the evening at Camp Souter, the base at Kabul airport, started as a very relaxed, happy affair, attended by high-ranking officers as well as soldiers from other nations.

Witnesses told how Cpl Gregory punched Sgt Busuttil after he made a lewd comment. He then retaliated with a flurry of blows.

Both men later made up but Cpl Gregory left the party for about half an hour.

Mr Masters said: "I expect that all that had happened that night was going round and round in his head.

"Ultimately, fired-up, adrenalin flowing, he went back into the tent area to confront Bob Busuttil."

With his cocked SA-80 at his shoulder, he repeatedly said: "So do you think you're hard now?" before firing at least ten shots, pausing and then firing a single shot under his chin.

A post-mortem examination found Cpl Gregory was two-and-a-half times above the legal drink drive limit.

His widow, Annette Gregory, 31, blamed his behaviour on a reaction to his anti-malaria drugs, but Mr Masters said medical experts said psychotic side-effects were either rare or inconclusive.

Earlier, the inquest heard that Cpl Gregory could become "punchy" after a few drinks.

The coroner said interpretation of the two-can rule - which prohibits drinking more than four units of alcohol in 24 hours - was "at best confused, at worst, ignored" at the camp.

Gilbert Blades, lawyer for Mrs Gregory, said yesterday: "We are devastated by what has happened, and that the relaxing of Army rules ultimately led to this tragedy."

Mr Masters said he was invoking Rule 43 of the Coroner's Act to call on the Army to investigate the use of alcohol and firearms security.

The inquest heard that a number of senior soldiers, including officers, believed the two-can rule had been relaxed.

This was strongly denied by the Chief of Staff of British Forces in Afghanistan, Major Duncan Capps.

Speaking afterwards, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "'The coroner's comments have been noted and the MoD will be holding its own board of inquiry."