Wayne Richards was training to be a Royal Marine

He said he knows Wayne died of bullet wounds to the head and shoulder during a mock battle, but has no idea how live rounds came to be used in a training exercise.

Mr Richards is convinced that his son's death was purely accidental but said he needs to know what the mistakes were that led to his death.

He said Wayne had wanted to join the forces since the age of 14.

"Up until a few weeks before he went into the Marines I tried to persuade him not to.

"It's a dangerous job," he said.

The recruit, from Cwmavon in the Swansea Valley, was in the ninth week of a 30-week course to qualify for the coveted Royal Marine green beret.

'Tragic accident'

Both a police and an army inquiry are still going on into the incident.

He was exercising on Woodbury Common with the 780 troop from the nearby Commando Training Centre at Lympstone when the incident happened.

At the time, the regiment described the incident as "a tragic accident".

Mr Richards said he hoped the investigations by the police and the army would reveal the truth about his son's death.