A soldier from Telford has been killed with two of his colleagues when the car they were in crashed four miles from their base in a Pembrokeshire village.
The bodies of Lance Corporal Christopher Beckett, 25, along with Corporal Daniel Ginty, 26, and Corporal James Luton, 24, were found in the overturned car by a pub landlord who arrived for work at 8am on Sunday morning.
They were found in the village of Roch, Pembrokeshire, four miles from Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy, where they were based with the 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare).
It is understood the Skoda Fabia the soldiers were in left the road and collided with a wall on the A487.
It is not clear how long they were undiscovered. Dyfed Powys Police contacted the Army after tracking down the car’s registration number.
It is thought the three close friends had watched Wales beat England 23-15 on television at a nearby pub.
The MoD announced the untimely deaths of the soldiers – all three served in Afghanistan – with “great regret”.
Their commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Carmichael, said his thoughts were with the men’s families.
Speaking about L/Cpl Beckett, he said: “Already in this, his first assignment in the Royal Signals, Chris had faced the tough challenge of an operational tour in Helmand Province. To have returned and yet have his life cut short within miles of my regiment’s base in Pembrokeshire is particularly tragic.
“Chris Beckett was an enthusiastic young man learning his trade at an impressive rate. He will be missed by everyone in my regiment.”
Local councillor James Adams said: “This is a small community which is quite numbed and shocked at an incident like this. A lot of people can’t quite believe such an incident could happen.”
