Paul Berryman, 62, had admitted possessing a prohibited shotgun, an offence which has a mandatory jail sentence of five years unless there are exceptional circumstances
A man who attempted to avoid a prison sentencing by falsely claiming he had a career in the Parachute Regiment was caught out by his bad spelling, a court has heard.
Paul Berryman, 62, had admitted to possession of a prohibited shotgun, an offence which has a mandatory jail sentence of five years, unless there are exceptional circumstances. He allegedly tried to avoid a prison sentence for the offence in 2019 by claiming he had served in the British Army for almost 30 years between 1979 and 2007.
Berryman claimed he had been left with post traumatic stress disorder after serving with the Parachute Regiment in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Falklands. But during his sentencing hearing a judge became suspicious after he allegedly submitted faked documents about his Army service, containing a number of basic spelling errors.
Norwich Crown Court heard how the words “parachute”, “military”, “Falklands” and “battalion” were all spelled incorrectly. The judge adjourned his sentencing hearing as an investigation into his record was carried out.
It found he had enlisted in the British Army on November 23, 1979, and was discharged less than two weeks later, on December 5, before he could even complete his basic training. Berryman, of Willbye Avenue, Diss, Norfolk, has now been charged with perverting the course of justice. He has denied the offence.
Hannah Gladwell, prosecuting said Berryman had falsely claimed to have had a “distinguished military career between 1979 and 2007” before leaving the Army due to suffering PTSD as a result of his “violent” service.
She said he had tried to make out he was an “armed services veteran” who had served for “a number of years “in order to demonstrate his exceptional circumstances to try and avoid jail for having the shotgun in November 2018 Berryman who is representing himself in court had provided documents, including a record of his military service and a reference from a retired senior officer, she said.
But the court heard “there were a number of errors” in the paperwork causing the sentencing judge in 2019 to “question the authenticity of the documents provided”. Miss Gladwell told the jury of ten women and two men: “If this was a genuine document from the British Army you would’ve expected it to be spelt correctly.”
Berryman claimed he was based with the Parachute Regiment at Merville Barracks in Colchester, Essex, after his basic training.
But Miss Gladwell said that although the regiment was now based there, it only moved to the Essex location in 2008.
Previously, it was in Aldershot, Hampshire. She added: “He couldn’t have served in the Parachute Regiment there in 1979 because it was not there”. The trial continues.