Army drink limit dropped after tragedy
A ‘TWo-CAN’ alcohol rule for UK troops serving in eastern europe has been relaxed after a soldier fell to his death following a binge drinking session.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace said regulations had been eased in a bid to stop Army personnel going on drinking sprees when away from their base.
It follows the death of scot Corporal Ryan Lovatt, 25, who fell 70ft from a balcony while staying at the Comfort City hotel in Warsaw, Poland, on August 1, 2019.
Coroner Darren salter, who presided over an inquest into the death, issued a prevention of future deaths notice to the Ministry of Defence after hearing that the strict two-can rule imposed while soldiers were on base ‘might lead to excessive/binge drinking’ when they were allowed out.
he also urged the Army to give greater prominence to the role of ‘shark watch’, a military protocol which nominates one member of a group to remain sober at all times.
In response, Mr Wallace said the two-can rule had been ended and troops were being educated on the ‘negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption’. Mr Wallace said the role of shark watch had been formalised so the person nominated was now subject to written orders, which set out a requirement to keep the group together and return everyone safely to their overnight location.
In a formal response to Mr salter, Mr Wallace added: ‘I hope that Cpl Lovatt’s family will draw some comfort from the knowledge that action has been taken to address your concerns.’
Cpl Lovatt, from Torrance, stirlingshire, was serving with the Royal electrical and Mechanical engineers and had been deployed for diplomatic services in Poland when he died. The inquest, in oxford, heard he spent several hours drinking heavily in Warsaw shortly before his death.
Cpl Lovatt was put to bed by a colleague in his seventh-floor room, but later fell, accidentally and unwitnessed, from the balcony.
Mr salter, senior coroner for oxfordshire, said Cpl Lovatt’s colleagues gave evidence which revealed the role of the nominated shark watch was ‘not well understood and not complied with’.
Following the inquest in June, Cpl Lovatt’s family said: ‘It’s difficult not to think that he was let down by those he trusted.’