Scots soldier died after telling wife army failed to help him 'deal with emotions'

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A soldier told his wife the army doesn't teach you how to "deal" with your emotions just days before he was found dead, an inquest heard.

Nicki Hart, 33, who had a history of mental health problems, passed away from hanging at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, in February 2022.

Northallerton Coroners Court heard on the first day of his inquest how he had served with the 4th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland since his late teens.

But jurors were told following a tour to Afghanistan in 2020, he began to drink heavily, which took its toll on his relationship with his wife Sara Hart, 38.

Nicki was referred to mental health services, but after these meetings, Sara said the "sociable" father was left to "ponder" his thoughts alone at the barracks.

And four days before his death on February 5, 2022, Nicki sent her a heartbreaking text saying he felt the Army had not prepared him to deal with his feelings.

Coroner Jonathan Leach summarised the message submitted in evidence, which said: "I'm sorry I let you down, didn't just let you down but myself as well.

"There are issues that I've had to live with I'm not proud of. Things that I honestly can't put into words. I've been in autopilot for so long as I can't remember.

"Only now seeing these doctors are things beginning to hurt again, feelings that I have pushed away, pushed back for so f****ing long.

"The army always teaches you to suppress all your feelings and emotions until the battle is won but never teaches you how to deal with them coming forward again."

A pathologist who submitted evidence to the hearing said Nicki's cause of death was '1A hanging' after "pressure marks" were discovered around his neck.

A toxicology report also found Nicki had 173mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his body following his death, which is more than twice the legal driving limit.

The document also stated there were "therapeutic levels" of the antidepressant medications Diazepam and Sertraline in his blood.

A statement from Sara, read by coroner Jonathan Leach, said Nicki had told her of previous attempts he had made to take his life earlier in his military career.

But she said the dad's mental health had begun to decline significantly in 2020 when he began drinking following a tour of Afghanistan.

After this period overseas, he worked as an army recruiter near Sara's home in Inverness, Scotland, but was asked to return to Catterick Barracks in August 2021.

However, this coincided with the death of his pal Ryan Mackenzie at the base, who took his own life after suffering "flashbacks" of his friends being killed in Afghanistan.

In October 2021, while Sara was pregnant with their baby, Nicki then sent her a video which appeared to show him attempting to take his own life.

Coroner Leach summarised her statement, saying: "His drinking was an issue, and then you say around the same time, October 2021, he sent videos to you and your brother of him vomiting on the floor after attempting to kill himself with a ligature.

"He said he couldn't go through with it as he felt there was 'something stuck in his throat'.

Sara revealed how Nicki had returned to Inverness from his base for almost a month over the Christmas period in 2021.

When he returned to Catterick Garrison in January 2022, she told the court he appeared "vacant" and distant in their FaceTime conversations. And she felt his mental health appointments were having a 'negative' effect on him.

Coroner Leach, reading from Sara's statement, said: "You say from the end of January, he started to attend appointments with the mental health team: 'I think these appointments had a really negative impact on his mental health.'

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"He was having his appointments regularly where he would talk about what he was feeling, and then he was sent back to the barracks to sit on his own and ponder what had been said.

"He told you he had found the appointments draining, and after the appointments, he wasn't very talkative, he became very quiet.

"He didn't want to talk to his child or interact with him. He was very vacant and distant like he wasn't present."

Tragically, Nicki was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in his barracks on February 5, 2022.

A serious inquiry report subsequently made 41 recommendations, with four specifically assigned to the 4th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

And it raised concerns over a "possible suicide cluster", after four sudden and unexpected deaths, were recorded at the regiment between 2018 and 2022.

The inquest continues.

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