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'HE KNEW THE RISKS'

Dad of tragic soldier who died training on hottest day of the year said ‘he knew something was wrong’ before he died

Heartbroken Phillip Hoole has spoken out about the "knee jerk reaction" that has surrounded his son's death

THE dad of a soldier who tragically died training in the Brecon Beacons on the hottest day of the year has revealed his son knew the risks of his training.

Heartbroken Phillip Hoole has spoken out about the "knee jerk reaction" that has surrounded his son's death saying he would have wanted no part in the blame game that has followed his tragic death.

Phillip Hoole, 48, has spoken out about the 'hysteria' surrounding his son's tragic death
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Phillip Hoole, 48, has spoken out about the 'hysteria' surrounding his son's tragic deathCredit: Caters News Agency
Joshua Hoole, 26, died after training with The Rifles regiment on the hottest day of the year
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Joshua Hoole, 26, died after training with The Rifles regiment on the hottest day of the year

Joshua Hoole, 26, died during pre-course training for the Platoon Sergeant's Battle Course on the July 14, the hottest day of the year so far.

But 48-year-old Phillip, formerly a Sergeant Major himself, has blasted the hysterical reaction around his son's death.

He told the : "My son is dead. I can’t bring him back. But I can speak up for him."

"Josh wouldn’t have been happy with the way people have had a knee-jerk reaction straight away simply because it was the hottest day of the year.

"He wouldn’t have wanted the soldiers who were with him, or the medics, to feel any blame.

"He was doing his job and he knew the risks."

The young soldier was taking part in a training course in the Brecon Beacons when he felt unwell and collapsed
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The young soldier was taking part in a training course in the Brecon Beacons when he felt unwell and collapsed
Corporal Hoole collapsed just 200m from the end of an eight mile run
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Corporal Hoole collapsed just 200m from the end of an eight mile run

He continued saying that his son always pushed himself to be the best he could be saying that if his son was still here he would do exactly the same thing on that run.

Phillip continued: "He, like me, believed we have a duty of care to soldiers not just to give them good equipment but also to train them so they are physically and mentally as resilient as possible to go and do an extremely difficult job in an operational environment.

"People die in training. It happens. I know that sounds callous, but it’s true. People die in all sorts of jobs, but it doesn’t always make the headlines like the Armed Forces or the police do."

Josh Hoole was buried with full military honours last week, not long before his elder brother's wedding
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Josh Hoole was buried with full military honours last week, not long before his elder brother's weddingCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Phillip has blasted the reaction to his son's death claiming Josh would not have wanted the army or the medics to be blamed for his death
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Phillip has blasted the reaction to his son's death claiming Josh would not have wanted the army or the medics to be blamed for his deathCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

The grieving dad from Ecclefechan, near Lockerbie, also told of how his son didn't die from heat related injuries but actually had an underlying heart condition.

After speaking to the pathologist who performed the autopsy on his sun Phillip revealed Joshua had something "not quite right" in his heart tissue and other family members were now being checked out.

Phillip also revealed he stood in for Joshua at his eldest son's wedding, reading out the words he would have spoken had he still been alive.

He said: "There were little moments that day but very few tears. It was a time to enjoy life and the wedding was gorgeous."


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