A soldier who was found hanged at an Army base in Northern Ireland did not intend to take his own life, a coroner has found.

Lance Corporal James Ross, 30, from Leeds, was found dead in his room at Abercorn Barracks in Ballykinler, Co Down, on December 8 2012.

Belfast coroner Joe McCrisken said he was not satisfied to the required standard that L/Cpl Ross intended to kill himself.

“I consider James Ross’s death to be an accident,” he said.

The inquest also examined the death of Rifleman Darren Mitchell, 20, from London, who was also found hanged in his room at the base on February 10 2013.

Rifleman Darren Mitchell
Rifleman Darren Mitchell (Liberty Human Rights/PA)

Mr McCrisken said he was satisfied on the balance of probability that Rifleman Mitchell did intend to take his own life, outlining evidence including a message Rifleman Mitchell left on his Facebook page and WhatsApp messages between him and his girlfriend in the hours before his death, and the discovery of a hosepipe in his car which smelt of fumes.

Both men were serving with Second Battalion the Rifles and had been on active service in Afghanistan.

The inquest into the two deaths has been held over the last three weeks at Ballymena court house in Co Antrim.

It heard of an additional eight incidents of self-harm involving other soldiers from the same unit recorded over the six month period within which the men died.

Ballymena Court house
The findings conclude a three-week inquest at Ballymena Court House (Paul Faith/PA)

The inquest also heard of issues around record keeping by the Army, as well as complaints that Ballykinler had been an “isolated” base with some soldiers nicknaming it “Bally-kill-yourself”.

Delivering his findings at Laganside courts in Belfast on Wednesday, Mr McCrisken did not find the Army had failed the men, and found no evidence of bullying or a culture that dissuaded soldiers from coming forward.

The Coroner, who visited Ballykinler during the inquest, said while some soldiers may have nicknamed the base ‘Bally-kill-yourself’, he is not satisfied that the base contributed to either men’s deaths.

He described the base, which has a swimming pool and golf course among other facilities, as “having the potential to be excellent”, but also noted it was isolated, with taxis to Belfast costing £50 and soldiers unable to socialise in nearby towns due to security assessments.

Mr McCrisken said there was also “work to be done” to encourage soldiers to come forward to seek help with mental health issues, and referred to “poor record keeping” by the Army.

“The Army needs to take steps to give soldiers confidence to come forward about mental health problems without fearing an impact on their careers,” he said.

Mr McCrisken noted his findings come on the same week as a new report by the House of Commons Defence committee on mental health care for serving members of the armed forces and veterans.

He said he plans to consider the report and will write to the head of the Army to highlight the findings of the inquest.

2 Rifles moved out of Ballykinler in 2014 and are now based at Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, Co Antrim.

Speaking outside court on Wednesday, L/Cpl Ross’s mother Linda Ketcher said she felt the finding about her son was right.

“We have got what we expected, we always knew he never meant to do this, so the findings for us are right. It doesn’t make it any easier but it is right,” she said.

She urged the Army to “smarten up” and “get it right”.

“I think we have learned an awful lot over the last three weeks. I have sat in every day and listened to every piece of evidence and I think there is a lot to be learned, whether or not they take it on board and hopefully the coroner taking these points on will take it a bit further,” she said.

“These guys need help and when they need it, it needs to be there.”

Carol Mitchell
Carol Mitchell (right) (Rebecca Black/PA)

Carol Mitchell, mother of Rifleman Mitchell, claimed he was failed by the Army.

“Darren always wanted to join the Army and he was a brilliant soldier,” she said in a statement after proceedings had finished.

“Everybody loved him. As one of his colleagues said at the inquest, ‘If we had an army of Darrens we would be undefeatable’.

“But the Army failed him. Instead of Darren receiving the help he needed after returning from a difficult tour in Afghanistan, he was left isolated, exhausted and with nowhere to turn, even after his behaviour had noticeably changed.”