Sailor 'shot himself after bullying'

A sailor shot himself in the head on board a Royal Navy warship after suffering "bullying" banter from officers about the loss of his friend who also committed suicide on a naval ship, an inquest heard yesterday.

Samuel "Ricky" Hatton, an engineering technician, used a service rifle to kill himself on HMS Cattistock at Portsmouth Naval Base, in Hampshire.

The coroner was told he had suffered from depression at the time of his death in September 2010.