Latest news with #CatterickGarrison
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Britain's biggest Army base is 'overrun by rats' due to overflowing bins and fly-tipping - with even burnt-out cars sitting abandoned behind its gates, soldiers claim
The British army's biggest base has been overrun by rats as overflowing bins, piles of rubbish and even burnt out cars are left to fester behind its gates, soldiers claim. Shocking pictures from inside Catterick Garrison - taken just days after the latest collection was taken away - show huge piles of bin bags spilling from designated disposal areas. Litter - which is supposed to have been collected by North Yorkshire council - lies strewn across the grass lawns under accommodation blocks, an abandoned car with smashed windows sits in a car park and officers within the garrison's wires describe conditions as being 'like a slum'. Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, is the largest British Army base in the world, housing around 13,000 people including military personnel and their families. It is where all infantry soldiers are trained and is home to units from the Intelligence Corps, the Royal Lancers, the Royal Yorkshire Regiment and the Royal Military Police. Colonel Philip Ingram, formerly of the Intelligence Corps, today slammed the situation at Catterick as a 'failure' of the commanders and local council. An officer living in the base, who spoke to MailOnline on the condition of anonymity, said: 'There's mountains of bin bags piling up around the camp and rats everywhere. Litter has blown literally all over the camp outside the accommodation blocks. The bins themselves are all full to the brim - and we had the people come to empty them yesterday. 'The army prides itself on cleanliness, hygiene and discipline. This is my home. waking up every morning and having having to walk past maggots and rats and piles of rubbish. It's just horrible. 'Literally, the first thing that people note when they turn up here now is how poor the situation is, cleanliness wise. 'It's absolutely pushing people to sign off in the force. Our job absolutely has negatives but one of the benefits is meant to be life when you're on camp but at the moment no one wants to be here. 'We as soldiers on the camp are powerless. What do they expect us to do? Take our own rubbish to landfill?' North Yorkshire council are responsible for rubbish collection, the Ministry of Defence said, as they revealed further pest control measures are being put in place. The authority was one of the first in the country to sign the Armed Forces Covenant, with the Armed Forces Act 2021 enshrining into law their responsibility to help prevent armed services personnel and veterans from being disadvantaged when accessing public services. But Col Ingram, who formerly was in command of Intelligence Corps on the base, said officers should have been putting more pressure on the council to look after their men. He told MailOnline: 'It's failure in the Catterick commanders to deal with the local council and it's a failure of support from the local council. 'This and so many other incidences around accommodation for our troops, around the food for our troops, about the way our troops are looked after, shows that the Ministry of Defence does not care about its people.' An MoD spokesperson said: 'We are urgently working with the Council, which is responsible for collecting rubbish from the base, so that collections can be made and to ensure a high-quality living and working environment for our personnel. 'In the meantime proactive pest control measures are in place on the site and we are dealing with any issues as they arise.' It comes as Catterick Garrison faces intense scrutiny after a series of incidents from officers at the base. Earlier this month, Staff Sergeant Andrew Oakes, who was in charge of a pre-signed military cheque book, was locked up after it emerged he stole almost £350,000 from the army to buy three Tesla cars, a hair transplant and 'adult services'. An investigation revealed that the defendant had used 125 cheques between December 2023 and May 2024 to drain £336,448 from the MOD's coffers while he was serving in the 2nd Infantry Training Battalion. And last week the widow of a father-of-three soldier who lay decomposing in barracks for three weeks has blasted the Army for the 'unforgiveable' delay in finding his body. Lance Corporal Bernard Morgan was discovered on January 23 2020 in his bedroom at Catterick Garrison following a prolonged period of 'degrading' by senior officers which involved him being 'shouted, screamed and swore at'. A senior coroner ruled it was 'not possible to determine' whether L/Cpl Mongan died from suicide or natural causes and recorded an open conclusion. North Yorkshire Council has been contacted for comment.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Joint military and NHS medical centre to open in Catterick
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and NHS will open a new healthcare facility on Catterick Garrison to treat both military personnel and members of the public in North to open in 2026, the Catterick Integrated Care Centre (CICC) has received £110m of funding, and is the largest collaborative partnership between the NHS and armed forces to facility will be split between 75% military patients and 25% NHS patients and is projected to treat up to 1,000 people per Tariq Ahmad, regional clinical director, called the CICC a "bold and ambitious vision to approach care in an integrated way." "The project represents a great investment in the people and the place, Catterick Garrison and North Yorkshire," he said."The benefits of having all the teams co-located means that you have a collation of expertise, knowledge and experience which are able to work together to optimise patient care."The centre will offer a range of services, including primary care, rehabilitation, dentistry, mental health support and specialist will cater for military personnel at Catterick Garrison and other bases, including RAF will also facilitate out-of-hours and GP appointments for NHS patients, primarily those currently registered at the Harewood Medical Practice in Richmondshire, although other GP practices will be able to refer patients to the centre. Michelle Hagger, programme manager from NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), said the NHS had worked closely with the MoD to fulfil the needs of the local area."It will hopefully reduce the burden on some of the travel that some of the patients have to do around here," she said."At the moment if you have to see a specialist, you may have to go to James Cook [Hospital] in Middlesbrough which is potentially a 40-45 minute drive, so it's easier to come here."Construction firm Tilbury Douglas was awarded the contract in 2021, and the build incorporates sustainable infrastructure in line with the NHS's 'Net Zero by 2040' commitment. These include being powered only by electricity, and installing solar PV roof Ahmad added that it was his ambition that the CICC became a "community hub to improve health and wellbeing overall for patients and their families"."Why should MoD and NHS GPs who would sometimes communicate together about patients operate in two separate silos, when they could be co-located in a new, purpose-built facility?" he added. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Widow of British soldier whose decomposing body was found in barracks after lying there for three weeks blasts 'unforgivable' delay in finding him - as coroner rules its 'impossible' to determine how he died
The widow of a British soldier who lay decomposing in barracks for three weeks has blasted the Army for the 'unforgiveable' delay in finding his body. Father-of-three Lance Corporal Bernard Morgan was discovered on January 23 2020 in his bedroom at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. A senior coroner ruled today it was 'not possible to determine' whether L/Cpl Mongan died from suicide or natural causes and recorded an open conclusion. The soldier's death followed a prolonged period of 'degrading' by senior officers which involved him being 'shouted, screamed and swore at'. An inquest at North Yorkshire Coroner's Court heard the 33-year-old's medical cause of death was 'unascertained' as decomposition made it difficult for doctors to determine. Coroner Jon Heath added there was nothing found at the scene or in the post-mortem examination to explain how he died. Mr Heath said: 'The cause of death is unascertained and it is not possible to determine how he came by his death.' L/Cpl Mongan's widow Beth Mongan, who was separated from him at the time of his death, said the conclusion was 'an enormous disappointment' and that he was 'very badly let down by the Army'. The inquest heard L/Cpl Mongan had complained of being bullied by senior officers and five junior soldiers and two senior non-commissioned officers had informed the chain of command that he was being treated differently. Former corporal Stephen Timmerman said 'bullying would be an understatement' as he described how L/Cpl Mongan was 'shouted, screamed and swore at', made to clean senior officers' cars in his own time and 'forced' to do extra runs in his lunch break without being given time to eat. Three other witnesses said he was 'spoken to in a despicable manner,' '100 per cent victimised' and 'never spoken to respectfully'. Mr Heath said in his findings following the inquest that L/Cpl Mongan was 'on occasions treated and spoken to by his chain of command in a way that caused him distress'. The coroner said L/Cpl Mongan was not checked on in his accommodation block over the Christmas period, and had been due to start a deployment with 77 Brigade in January, but was not reported absent by them 'as he should have been' from January 7. The Centre for Military Justice, which represents Ms Mongan, said the last person to speak to L/Cpl Mongan in the early hours of January 2 described him as distressed, crying and drunk. They said: 'Bernie was supposed to be checked on over the Christmas period while he was staying alone in his Army accommodation - astonishingly one of the men Bernie had accused of mistreating him was assigned to do those checks and he admitted at this inquest he did not perform a single one of them. For that failure, he was ordered to perform an "extra duty" as punishment.' The inquest heard L/Cpl Mongan had attempted to kill himself several years earlier when his marriage was breaking down. In the days before he was last seen in January 2020 he gave away his Nintendo to a friend's son, told another friend he 'had bought pills but not taken them' and made two donations to a suicide charity. Mr Heath said: 'However I also find his previous attempt to take his own life was caused by feeling he was not going to see his children again - this was not the case at this time.' He also said L/Cpl Mongan was looking forward to his new deployment and had made a list of 'things to do in 2020' on a post-it note which was found in his room. The inquest heard the two most likely causes of death were considered to be self-inflicted poisoning, after barbiturates were found in L/Cpl's system - one of which was bought illegally - or a sudden abnormality of the heart, but a Home Office pathologist told the inquest he could not say which of these was the most likely. Dr Nigel Cooper said: 'I've thought about this long and hard but I just don't think I can, I don't think I have enough positive evidence to go in one direction or the other.' Speaking after the inquest, Beth Mongan said: 'I was expecting (the open conclusion), mainly due to the Army's failure of leaving him for so long but I've come to my own conclusions over the years. It's hard not having it for the kids.' She said: 'Knowing Bernie, and he did suffer with his mental health over the years and his treatment in the Army, I believe he took his own life. 'I believe (the Army) failed him, they didn't investigate the bullying accusations they way they should have done.' Ms Mongan said the fact that L/Cpl Mongan was undiscovered for three weeks on a military site was 'unforgivable', adding: 'I know they've apologised but that doesn't take away the fact that they failed him on that front. It forever will be unforgivable.' For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116123 or visit
The Independent
19-06-2025
- The Independent
Army's delay in finding soldier's body in barracks ‘unforgivable'
The widow of a soldier who was found dead in his barracks three weeks after he was last seen said she believes he 'took his own life while in crisis' and criticised the delay in finding him as 'unforgivable'. Father-of-three Lance Corporal Bernard Mongan's decomposing body was discovered on January 23 2020 in his bedroom at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. An inquest at North Yorkshire Coroner's Court heard the 33-year-old's medical cause of death was 'unascertained' as decomposition made it difficult for doctors to determine. On Thursday senior coroner Jon Heath said it was 'not possible to determine' whether L/Cpl Mongan died from suicide or natural causes and recorded an open conclusion. The conclusion said there was nothing found at the scene or in the post-mortem examination to explain how he died, adding: 'The cause of death is unascertained and it is not possible to determine how he came by his death.' L/Cpl Mongan's widow Beth Mongan, who was separated from him at the time of his death, said the conclusion was 'an enormous disappointment' and that he was 'very badly let down by the Army'. The inquest heard L/Cpl Mongan had complained of being bullied by senior officers and that five junior soldiers and two senior non-commissioned officers had informed the chain of command that he was being treated differently. Former corporal Stephen Timmerman said 'bullying would be an understatement' as he described how L/Cpl Mongan was 'shouted, screamed and swore at', made to clean senior officers' cars in his own time and 'forced' to do extra runs in his lunch break without being given time to eat. Three other witnesses said he was 'spoken to in a despicable manner,' '100% victimised' and 'never spoken to respectfully'. Mr Heath said in his findings following the inquest that L/Cpl Mongan was 'on occasions treated and spoken to by his chain of command in a way that caused him distress'. The coroner said L/Cpl Mongan was not checked on in his accommodation block over the Christmas period, and had been due to start a deployment with 77 Brigade in January, but was not reported absent by them 'as he should have been' from January 7. The Centre for Military Justice, which represents Ms Mongan, said the last person to speak to L/Cpl Mongan in the early hours of January 2 described him as distressed, crying and drunk. They said: 'Bernie was supposed to be checked on over the Christmas period while he was staying alone in his Army accommodation – astonishingly one of the men Bernie had accused of mistreating him was assigned to do those checks and he admitted at this inquest that he did not perform a single one of them. For that failure, he was ordered to perform an 'extra duty' as punishment.' The inquest heard he had attempted to kill himself several years earlier when his marriage was breaking down. In the days before he was last seen in January 2020 he gave away his Nintendo to a friend's son, told another friend he 'had bought pills but not taken them' and made two donations to a suicide charity. Mr Heath said: 'However I also find his previous attempt to take his own life was caused by feeling he was not going to see his children again – this was not the case at this time.' He also said L/Cpl Mongan was looking forward to his new deployment and had made a list of 'things to do in 2020″ on a post-it note which was found in his room. The inquest heard the two most likely causes of death were considered to be self-inflicted poisoning, after barbiturates were found in L/Cpl's system – one of which was bought illegally – or a sudden abnormality of the heart, but a Home Office pathologist told the inquest he could not say which of these was the most likely. Dr Nigel Cooper said: 'I've thought about this long and hard but I just don't think I can, I don't think I have enough positive evidence to go in one direction or the other.' Speaking after the inquest, Beth Mongan said: 'I was expecting (the open conclusion), mainly due to the Army's failure of leaving him for so long but I've come to my own conclusions over the years. It's hard not having it for the kids.' She told reporters: 'Knowing Bernie, and he did suffer with his mental health over the years and his treatment in the Army, I believe he took his own life. 'I believe (the Army) failed him, they didn't investigate the bullying accusations they way they should have done.' Ms Mongan said the fact that L/Cpl Mongan was undiscovered for three weeks on a military site was 'unforgivable,' adding: 'I know they've apologised but that doesn't take away the fact that they failed him on that front. It forever will be unforgivable.' An Army spokesperson said: 'Our deepest sympathies remain with the family and friends of Lance Corporal Bernard 'Bernie' Mongan. His loss has been profoundly felt throughout the Army, but we recognise that no one has felt this tragedy more deeply than those closest to him. 'The Army accepted and is actioning all of the recommendations identified by the Service Inquiry report into Bernie's death. We deeply regret and apologise for the shortfalls in our duty of care towards him, which were clearly unacceptable. We're grateful to HM coroner for the thorough and diligent examination of the circumstances surrounding his death. 'Bernie's service will not be forgotten, and we owe it to his memory, to his loved ones, and to all who serve to ensure that we consistently and diligently provide the duty of care our people need and deserve.'
BBC News
18-06-2025
- BBC News
Tributes to man fatally struck by military vehicle near Catterick Garrison
Tributes have been paid to a man who was fatally struck by a military truck while riding his mobility Mitchell, 70, from Catterick Garrison, died while being airlifted to hospital following the collision on the A6136 Catterick Road, near Colburn, at about 12:50 BST on 11 a statement issued via police, Mr Mitchell's family described him as a "much loved husband, brother, uncle and godfather" who would be "sadly missed".North Yorkshire Police said the military vehicle's male driver and passenger were assisting officers. Police continued to appeal for anyone with information or dashcam footage of the collision, or the vehicles prior to the collision, to come to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
