A YOUNG soldier has collapsed and died after completing a five-mile training run.

The 23-year-old man, who has not yet been named by the Ministry of Defence, was taken ill at about noon on Tuesday, following the training exercise at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire.

He was taken to the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, where he was pronounced dead at about 12.45pm.

The cause of his death has not yet been confirmed.

Major David Cunningham (retired), spokesman for the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, described the soldier as a “relatively experienced platoon officer.”

He said the officer had been fully trained at Sandhurst and Brecon, and that he had experience on active operations.

He was in Catterick Garrison on the second day of a three-week parachute training course when he collapsed.

Maj Cunningham said: “The young officer was taken ill straight after the run.

“There would have been about 30 others with him doing the same training, all of about the same experience.

“For an officer as young as 23, who has already completed training at Sandhurst and Brecon and who has also been out on operations, to die on a training exercise here is incredibly tragic.

“Our thoughts are with the officer’s friends and family.”

Maj Cunningham said that, although the officer’s next of kin had been informed of his death, it was not possible to release any further details yet.

An investigation into the death is being led by North Yorkshire Police, who expect to be able to reveal the officer’s identity later today.

A spokesman for the force said that because a postmortem examination had yet to be carried out, the cause of death could not be determined.

He said: “We were made aware of the sudden death of a soldier, and we are investigating.

“A date will be set for an inquest in due course.”

The officer is not believed to be local.