The death of a soldier killed by a single shot in an anti-terror training exercise in Kent was a tragic accident, it has been ruled.

Fusilier Dean Griffiths died after being hit by a bullet that went through a target and a wooden wall he was behind at Lydd Ranges, on Romney Marsh, in September 2011.

The 21-year-old, who was part of the 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh, had been preparing for a tour of duty in Afghanistan and was about to become a father.

The target, in a mock-up Afghan compound, should not have been left standing, an inquest heard.

DI Lee Whithead, speaking on the first day of the hearing, said it should have been left flat on the ground as scene debris.

Rachel Redman, central and south east Kent coroner, said: "That target should have been face down, but it was picked up and shot through. It is not known who picked it up."

DI Whitehead said: "It was surprising that someone should stand up the target."

Fusilier Griffiths, from Shropshire, was killed during the exercise on September 14, 2011 at an area called Serial 54 on the ranges.

Soldiers were meant to go through a hole in a wooden structure and fire at standing targets representing armed insurgents, but avoid images representing unarmed civilians.

But the targets should have been against solid structures to stop bullets.

The tragedy happened at about 1.50pm when training resumed after a lunch break.

It began with two soldiers going through the hole to get into the mock compound, one firing on the left and the other on the right.

One of the pair, Shaun Gibbon on the right, fired twice and it was one of his bullets that struck Fusilier Griffiths.

"It was surprising that someone should stand up the target..." - DI Lee Whitehead

He was given first aid, but died at the scene.

DI Whitehead said it was believed whoever put up the target had not done it maliciously and everyone questioned had co-operated in the investigation.

After the two-day inquest, a jury returned a narrative verdict, essentially concluding the death of Fusilier Griffiths was an accident.

Mrs Redman said L/Cpl Gibbon had only acted in the way he had been trained.

The tragedy was reported to the Health and Safety Executive as a notifiable accident.

The Ministry of Defence's Land Accident Investigation Unit was also involved in trying to find out what happened.

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