A "unique and inspirational" young soldier from Crewe died hours after he was reprimanded over his rifle duties, an inquest heard.

Joseph Berry was upset and tearful as he told colleagues of the Second Battalion of the Parachute Regiment how he had struggled to clean the muzzle of his service rifle and had been pulled up for "taking the weapon apart" in his room at the New Kabul Compound in Kabul.

The 21-year-old soldier, who was on his first tour in Afghanistan, was discovered in a portaloo at the compound on February 22, 2020.

The hearing at Warrington heard how he sent a text message to his pal, Lieutenant Corporal Josh Brown, directing to him to the location, saying "Thanks for being such a good friend. I wish I was better at everything…..love you man".

Lt. Cpl Brown told the hearing he thought his colleague was being sarcastic, but reported it to his multiple commander, Sgt Tony Fitzpatrick, who instigated a search.

Lance Corporal Kyle Smith discovered the soldier with fatal injuries. There was a Glock pistol nearby as well as his phone and a notebook, which was open on a page where the writing "looked like it had been written in distress".

The hearing was told how Pte Berry had been visibly upset after a piece of the "wrong-sized" flannelette was caught in his rifle muzzle as he cleaned it out.

He had disassembled the gun in his room and his failure to follow protocol earned him a reprimand from the company Sergeant Major Christopher Groves, who told him the matter would be dealt with later.

The Sgt. Major said: "I spoke to him. There are orders about how things are supposed to be done correctly. At that point it wasn't a real telling off as we all make mistakes – I have seen people getting flannelette stuck before [when cleaning weapons].

"I went into his room and saw other weapons parts. I gave him a bit more of a telling off and emphasised the safety aspect."

The soldier had returned to the compound from range practice after which it was expected that those taking part would have cleaned their weapons collectively.

The sergeant major recalled asking Pte Berry to fetch his commander, Sgt Fitzpatrick, who told the inquest how he'd said he was "busy" at the time, but he didn't consider the incident merited any punishment at a higher level.

He told the hearing: "He [Joseph] was tearful and was saying that he'd messed up and got the muzzle blocked. He told me he had got caught unloading his weapon in his room and that the sergeant major wanted to see him.

"The chain of command should not have got to the sergeant major. But he went to the armoury [for help with the rifle] and his office [the sergeant major's] is next door and the flanneletted hanging out of the rifle was spotted."

The sergeant added: "The worse that could have happened was extra duties."

A post mortem concluded that Pte Berry died of a gunshot wound to his forehead.

Staff Sergeant Christopher Belk, of the Royal Military Police's special investigation branch, said he examined the soldier's laptop and phone as part of his enquiries.

He could find no evidence that Pte Bell sought help for any problems, had been the victim of bullying or was considering self-harm.

But he said Pte Berry had left a note which indicated his intentions.

His father, Nicholas Berry, a serving member of the RAF, told the hearing: "I was incredibly proud of him when he joined. He took a decision to move from doing A levels to a more vocational life and it was absolutely brilliant he had thought about it and it was what he wanted to do.

"I asked him 'Why the Paras?' and he said 'Because they're the best', he was self-motivated about what he would have to do."

The inquest heard Pte Berry's training was disrupted by a bout of pneumonia and when he contracted a dermatological condition, but he was undeterred and passed his basic training at the first attempt.

He said there had been no history of self-harm and that the young soldier was making plans to come home to the UK.

The two spoke the day before his passing and his father recalled: "He was frustrated the tempo had reduced but I told him to make the most of the quiet times."

Lisa Snow, Pte Berry's mother, said her son was very focused and had prepared for the fitness regime of the Paras from a young age.

"He absolutely loved it and he was living his dream," she said. "He struggled a bit that his accommodation was sited away from the rest of the company, but once he moved over he made friends very quickly."

In a statement, she described her son as "unique and inspirational", "a force for good from a very young age" who stood up and supported "anyone in need".

She revealed how Pte Berry, who had been a student at Reaseheath College, was undertaking an Open University course in animal veterinary and volunteered on the SOS night bus in Colchester - the Para's base - helping those in need.

She recalled his love of animals and how in her last video call with him he told her of his plans to go dog sledding and how he'd booked a hotel room for his sister's wedding.

"He lived his life with a generosity of spirit," she said.

The inquest is to be concluded by Cheshire Coroner Alan Moore tomorrow (Thursday).