Son 'let down by Army' says father of hanged soldier

Ian Parkin said his son Matthew Parkin, 21, was "happy go-lucky" upon enlisting with the Coldstream Guards when he left Old Hall

Comprehensive in Kimberworth, Rotherham.

But, two years, later, he was posted to Afghanistan and returned in

2008 angry, aggressive and depressed.

Mr Parkin said: "My son only ever wanted to be a soldier. He joined the cadets when he was at school.

"But the man who returned from Afghanistan in 2008 was not my son. It changed him."

In April 2009 the young guardsman became a father for the first time. However, a few days after his daughter Mia was born, he was told to return to Afghanistan for a second time.

"He decided he couldn't go back", Mr Parkin said. "Not now he had a daughter."

Matthew Parkin went AWOL for several months, before being arrested by the Army and confined to the barracks. In January this year he was honourably discharged with a clean record, but retreated into his "own little world" after returning to his parents' home.

He tried to commit suicide twice before, last week, storming out of the house in Thorpe Hesley after an argument.

Mr Parkin said: "I told him to get off the sofa and sort himself out. He got up and looked like he was going to take a swing at me.

"Then he said he was going into town to re-enlist in the Army. He

stormed out and that's the last time we ever saw him."

His body was found hanging three days later in woodland, just 200 yards from the family home.

Mr Parkin said: "This is not just about my son – it's about everybody's sons who come back from the Army.

"They shouldn't be released that quick into society. They should be evaluated as to what their state of mind is.

"It is a completely different world for them when they have been in for four or five years. We should be looking after these guys."

A spokesman from the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards said they had learned "with sadness" of Mr Parkin's death.

They said: "On completion of his tour he, along with all his colleagues, conducted the recognised decompression, normalisation and re-integration procedures required of troops returning from Afghanistan.

"He was subsequently discharged from the Army by mutual consent."

An inquest into Mr Parkin's death has been opened and adjourned.