THE army has been heavily criticised over the death of a recruit whose drowning in a notoriously dangerous pool complex led to the prosecution of a Gwent caving instructor.

Matthew Doubtfire, 34, formerly of Rockfield Road, Monmouth, was cleared last March at Swansea crown court of the manslaughter of 17-year-old Kevin Sharman.

The army was never prosecuted in the case because of Crown Immunity, but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) censured the Ministry of Defence (MoD) at a special hearing yesterday.

At their offices in Cardiff, the HSE said there had been repeated failings.

Mr Sharman, from Derbyshire, panicked and drowned in the Porth yr Ogof cave complex, Ystradfellte, in the Brecon Beacons National Park, in July 2002.

He was on the first day of a week-long training course when he joined a party of 11 teenage recruits on a caving excursion.

Mr Sharman, a non-swimmer who had only been in the army for three months, got into difficulties in the deep Resurgence Pool which has claimed the lives of eight cavers over the years.

He drowned despite the efforts of Mr Doubtfire and other recruits to rescue him.

The HSE investigation found the army failed to carry out sufficient assessment of the risk of drowning presented by caving generally, and specifically at Porth yr Ogof cave.

In addition, the HSE said, the army failed to identify and implement effective control measures, or carry out adequate monitoring.

It was concluded that repeated failings by several individuals on a number of different occasions exposed the army's employees to a significant risk to their safety.

HSE inspector Sally Nicholson said after the censure the army had fully co-operated and taken action to improve safety procedures.

She said: "We believe that there were significant failings, as outlined, that led to Kevin Sharman's death, but are pleased to note the actions taken to reduce the risk of a similar occurrence."

After the hearing, an MoD spokesman said: "We deeply regret the death of anyone in our charge. The army takes its responsibilities for the care of its trainees extremely seriously and has rigorous mechanisms in place to reduce the risk of injury to them.

"Sadly, on this occasion, the system of checks failed to prevent an accident.

"The army has learned from this incident and has tightened its procedures since then."