A grieving mother whose son was fatally shot during a training exercise on Pembrokeshire's Castlemartin range more than three years ago has pleaded for answers on the circumstances surrounding his death.

Sergeant Gavin Hillier, 35, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, died at the Castlemartin range on March 4, 2021.

A service inquiry report (SIR) by the Defence Safety Authority published in August 2022 stated that Sgt Hillier was likely to have been mistaken for a firing target by a short-sighted colleague who was not wearing corrective lenses at the time.

At a third pre-inquest hearing today, Wednesday, September 4, Pembrokeshire Coroner Paul Bennett said that he would not take the SIR as conclusive, meaning that he would consider other submitted evidence in determining the circumstances around Sgt Hillier’s death.

The inquest heard that a long-awaited report by the Health and Safety Executive was likely to be completed within the next two to three months.

The hearing was told that this was because one of the key witnesses was not in the country and a statement from him was not likely to be forthcoming until the end of October.

The inquest also heard that the interested parties in the inquest had visited Castlemartin Range on Tuesday, September 3. Despite this, there was still some confusion over where certain individuals had been positioned on the day of the incident.

The MoD said that it could make drone footage and photography available that would hopefully clear this up.

There was also discussion as to whether a night visit to the range to observe the conditions in which the incident occurred would be useful. After some discussion Mr Bennett asked that the images from the SIR be released as separate digital documents and said that consideration would be given to a large screen presentation at a future hearing to provide some clarity.

It was determined that the next pre-inquest hearing would take place in January next year, before this Mr Bennett asked that submissions on whether the final inquest should be a jury hearing as well as submissions on a report by the MoD be sent to him.

He said that his intention was to hold the final inquest in late 2025.

Sgt Hillier’s mother Karen Selway urged the coroner, and those involved as interested parties, to complete the process as soon as possible.

“As a family we are really struggling," she said. “We need this done next year.

“We are all struggling as a family. There are still no answers.

“Gavin’s eldest son is now 18. He is an intelligent boy. He wants answers. We all want answers as a family. Please everyone, do your jobs and get this sorted for 2025.”

Mrs Selway said that both she and Sgt Hillier’s wife were suffering with their mental health.

“We need this as a family in order to move on,” she said. “To think about Gavin in the way that we want to, not like this. Please can this be concluded in 2025?

“In March next year this will be four years going on. We need this concluded.”