Paratrooper who crashed MoD Land Rover into a tree is fined £1,380

Paratrooper who crashed MoD Land Rover into a tree after drinking five vodka Cokes and swerving to avoid a dog is fined £1,380

•  Private Thomas Strong decided to drive half a mile in the dark to pick up charger
•  A fellow member of the elite regiment was in the passenger seat of the vehicle
•  Judge tells Pte Strong, 22, that he made an ‘serious error of judgment’ 

A British paratrooper wrote off an MoD Land Rover after ‘stupidly’ drinking five vodka Cokes and crashing into a tree while driving to fetch a phone charger, a military court heard.

The elite fighting force were in the middle of a high profile NATO exercise in Macedonia after the start of the Ukraine war when Private Thomas Strong decided to drive half a mile in the dark to pick up the charger.

Pte Kai Neilan, 21, a fellow member of the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, was in the passenger seat when they swerved to avoid a dog and crashed.

The court heard the paratroopers – accustomed to entering the battlefield from the air and attack areas not directly accessible by other transport – had done £23,102 worth of damage to the vehicle after smashing into a tree.

Pte Strong, 22, has been fined £1,380 for his ‘serious error of judgment’ after admittting misconduct through alcohol.

Private Thomas Strong, 22, has been fined after crashing an MoD Land Rover in Macedonia

At Bulford Military Court, Wilts, Pte Neilan was also ordered to pay £920 for conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline.

Prosecuting, Captain Jack Hook told the court Pte Strong and Pte Neilan were on exercise Swift Response in North Macedonia in May last year, which involved 3,000 troops from eight NATO allies.

‘On May 15, Pte Strong was was relieved of his duties at 8pm and by around 10pm he had had around five vodka Cokes,’ he said. ‘Pte Strong volunteered to get a phone charger as there wasn’t one at the tent.

‘Pte Neilan offered to go with him and had had roughly the same amount to drink – he was aware Pte Strong had been drinking that evening.

‘Pte Strong drove the vehicle back to camp but crashed into a tree because a dog ran out.’

Cpt Hook told the court there had been such ‘substantial’ damage to the car from impact, it had been deemed a ‘write-off’.

This figure was arrived at via estimating cost of spare parts and associated labour if it were to be put back on the road.

Private Kai Neilan accompanied his colleague in the vehicle, which was deemed a ‘write-off’

In mitigation, Kim Wilson said Pte Strong ‘was not drunk’, but knew he should not have offered to get a charger if he was going to drive a one-mile round trip.

‘He accepts he was stupid,’ he said. ‘The intentions he had were correct, but it was a foolish decision.’

Meanwhile, Bob Scott, defending Pte Neilan, said the young paratrooper had made a mistake getting in the car knowing Pte Strong had been drinking.

Mr Scott said: ‘It was simply a foolish decision to go with him.’

Sentencing the pair, Assistant Judge Advocate General Jane England told the paratroopers – often used in surprise attacks, to seize strategic objectives such as airfields or bridges – their behaviour was ‘stupid’.

She said: ‘You came off duty and went to see those at the ammo tent after drinking vodka cokes.

‘At this point you had done nothing wrong.’

Addressing Pte Strong, she continued: ‘You then made a serious error of judgment by deciding to drive.

‘And Pte Neilan, you went along as a willing passenger.’

As there were many troops in tents nearby, the judge warned the consequences could have been ‘far more serious’ if they had crashed into something other than a tree.

‘The total distance was about a mile, when other people were moving about,’ she added. ‘You could have just walked.’

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