Kingsman Jason Chelsea was scared he might have to shoot children

Soldier overdosed on eve of Iraq tour



Last Updated: 2:47am GMT 15/11/2007


Kingsman Jason Chelsea was scared he might have to shoot children


A young soldier was so traumatised by the prospect of his first posting in Iraq, that he took a fatal overdose.

Kingsman Jason Chelsea could not come to terms with the thought that he might have to "shoot children".

On the eve of a tour of duty with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, he took a large quantity of paracetamol and iron tablets.

Unknown to Kingsman Chelsea, it was a destructive combination and he died from multi-organ failure following severe damage to his liver. As he lay dying, the 19-year-old repeatedly told medical staff: "I never wanted to die."

A donor organ had been found as he battled for life in the renal unit at St James's Hospital, in Leeds, but by then he was too ill to face surgery.

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