‘Reckless’ soldier, 25, who brought on £35,000 price of harm spared jail

A ‘reckless’ British Army soldier destroyed a £35,000 shower block when he ploughed his car into it after racing his friend following a night out, a court martial heard.

Lance Corporal Jack Whitt and Lance Corporal Kieran Rough both crashed their cars in heavy rain, while speeding around their base before they ran away and lied to police when questioned.

LCpl Rough swerved into a concrete barrier in his black BMW and LCpl Whitt, who was just behind him in his white Mercedes, ploughed into the shower unit at Tidworth Camp in Wiltshire.

The pair’s lies were only discovered after DNA evidence was found on the airbags of the crashed cars.  

The Army were forced to replace the shower block at Tidworth following the ‘very silly’ incident on January 14 last year, costing more than £35,000.

The soldiers, both 25 and from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, were speeding around the army base in heavy rain after a night out. 

Lieutenant Colonel Lindsey Jones, prosecuting, told the court that LCpl Rough had ‘misjudged’ a bend in the road and had to brake suddenly, causing him to swerve off and collide with a concrete kerb at 12.45am.

LCpl Whitt, who was behind his colleague, then ploughed straight into the portable shower block and sent it flying 15 metres.

‘It was clear that the portable shower cabin needed to be replaced in its entirety, this was at a cost of £35,000 plus VAT,’ Lt Col Jones said.

Lt Col Jones said the pair ‘fled the scene’ but an SOS device in one of the cars alerted police that there had been a crash and Wiltshire Police officers rushed to the site.

Around 1.30am, LCpl Rough and LCpl Whitt returned to the scene – but lied to officers.

The two soldiers repeatedly lied to police while giving statements and interviews, insisting they had not been driving.

LCpl Rough told police the car had been ‘taken from camp without his consent’.

The pair repeated their lies while giving a police statement.

LCpl Rough again suggested his car had been stolen – claiming that he ‘often leaves his car unlocked with the key in the console’.

LCpl Whitt told officers when he returned from the night out he went to bed.

It was heard they then lied for a third time, during police interviews, but were eventually caught after DNA evidence was found on their airbags.

Lt Col Jones said: ‘The driving was too fast for the road and prevailing conditions. It was dark and raining heavily and LCpl Rough did not know the layout.

‘The court may consider that was a reckless contravention.

‘Driving without due care and attention not only puts the driver at risk, but other drivers and pedestrians at risk.

‘LCpl Rough caused damage to the kerb. LCpl Whitt had to swerve and brake sharply, that indicates there was not sufficient space and that caused significant damage to a shower block and it needed to be replaced.

‘They had several opportunities to report this accident but they decided not to.

‘Honesty is such an essential and integral component of the chain of command.’

The soldiers, part of 6 Armoured Close Support Battalion, admitted breaching a standing order by driving without due care and attention, failure to report the accident, and conduct prejudicial to good order in relation to lying to police.

Alex Rynn, for LCpl Rough, said they were ‘quite frankly, very silly actions’.

Mr Rynn said: ‘Perhaps LCpl Rough said it best himself. He said, “This was the stupidest thing in the world”.

‘And it really was. What he did has had a significant effect on him, his career, and the military.

‘He is very sorry.’

LCpl Rough, who enlisted in August 2016, is leaving the Army next month.

Laura Deuxberry, for LCpl Whitt, said: ‘Clearly this was an act one might expect from a teenager.

‘It’s clear that time in the Army might have matured him, and it has, but a split second decision led to what we’re dealing with today.

‘He tells me that he was not thinking… He is not a criminal mastermind, it’s someone panicking and making a bad decision.’

LCpl Whitt, who enlisted in July 2016, is determined to succeed in the Army, Ms Deuxberry said.

Assistant Judge Advocate General John Atwill said the soldiers narrowly escaped prison.

Judge Atwill said: ‘We express no view as to why you were [driving]; you said you were showing each other around. It was a bad day at the races, whatever.

‘The crashes that you had – had the cars not saved you – could have killed you.

‘Driving badly is no good. Leaving the scene is no good. Lying to the police is really no good.

‘It’s an offence for which civilians can expect to go to prison.’

Judge Atwill said it was a ‘chain of events that got out of hand’ and that the pair were loyal to each other rather than doing the right thing and reporting it.

‘You chose to drive your cars very badly.. That you then chose to lie is completely unacceptable.

‘You wasted police time and it reflected very badly on you as soldiers and as non-commissioned officers.’

The pair have have been given ten-week prison sentences suspended for 12 months at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire.