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An army officer cadet was found with a fatal gunshot wound after he failed to get into his preferred regiment, an inquest has heard.

Edward Milner, 26, of Bepton, West Sussex, was found dead on 6 May after reports of a car leaving the carriageway of the A286, near Midhurst.

Area coroner Joseph Turner told the inquest in Horsham that there was a lack of evidence as to Mr Milner’s state of mind, and ruled out a conclusion of suicide.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Milner had sustained a gunshot injury to the head, and tests found no significant alcohol or drugs in his body.

The coroner made a narrative conclusion in which he told Mr Milner’s family that he was “sadly found deceased” in his car as he drove back to Sandhurst on the A286.

The car had gone down a steep embankment and struck a tree.

Mr Milner had “struggled professionally in his previous term” but no details about his state of mind had been identified and the police do not think any third party was involved in his death, the inquest heard.

Mr Milner, who was a licensed shotgun owner, left his home at 05:00 BST and was in his car heading back for his third term at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

He had wanted to join the Parachute Regiment or the Irish Guards, which are popular and oversubscribed, but was filtered out of the process, the inquest was told.

He was still in line for a place with the Princess of Wales’s regiment.

The coroner told Mr Milner’s family: “The facts that I have got are quite bare. You know that he had a difficult second term.”

He said that the 26-year-old had a setback in his career plans, but added that “equally, I have heard a lot about his resilience”.

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