A teenage soldier suspected of killing herself was bombarded with "I love you" texts from her "possessive and psychotic" boss, an inquest heard.

Jaysley Beck, a 19-year-old Royal Artillery Gunner, received a "relentless" barrage of messages from her manager Bombardier Ryan Mason, the hearing was told.

Bdr Mason - who was named for the first time on Monday - sent her thousands of messages, including ones that read: "You're amazing Jaysley" and "I do love you Jaysley", the inquest heard.

The teenager told Leighann McCready, her mother, that "it was becoming creepy" and she feared Bdr Mason had "hacked" her mobile phone, it was heard.

Mrs McCready told the inquest that Bdr Mason once messaged her daughter saying: "Jaysley Beck I know you're standing at the bottom of the building on your telephone".

Gnr Beck, who joined the Army at 16, was found dead in single living accommodation in Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on Dec 15 2021.

Her suspected suicide prompted an Army service inquiry, which found in October 2023 that "unwelcome" harassment was a "causal factor" in her death.

The inquest at Salisbury Coroner's Court heard Gnr Beck and Bdr Mason's relationship had started normally, before he began "overstepping the mark" and the teenager became "scared" of him.

Mrs McCready, giving evidence, said her daughter did not want to inform anyone about Bdr Mason's behaviour as she was worried about becoming known as "the female troublemaker".

This was because the young soldier had already reported another married Sergeant who put his hand "between her legs" and "inappropriately touched" her, it was heard.

Gnr Beck graduated from training in February 2020 and was posted to the 14th Regiment Royal Artillery. She then joined the Corps Engagement Team in 2021, where she was managed by Bdr Mason, who was reportedly "really struggling with his mental health".

The inquest heard that in November 2021, the Bombardier sent the teenager 3,600 messages.

Mrs McCready said: "She made us aware that it was becoming creepy now," adding: "It was relentless. He was throwing things at her constantly because of her kind, caring nature, he knew that she would be there to support him."

She told the inquest her daughter, originally from Oxen Park in Cumbria, said "he's actually scaring me now mum" and that "he wouldn't allow other males to work alongside her".

In one message, the Bombardier told Gnr Beck: "You seriously make everything go away. Even though obviously there's nothing there, just you being you, being funny as f---, being to the point and being your genuine self."

In another, he said: "You're amazing Jaysley, I appreciate you so much, I love everything about you, even your flaws and I'm so grateful to call you my friend... You are stuck with me forever now. It's signed and sealed, I love you x."

He followed this up with: "As a friend that is. It's perfectly fine to love a friend."

The inquest heard Gnr Beck felt that the messages from Bdr Mason were becoming more "intense" as time went on.

In response to one, Ms Beck told him: "This whole falling in love with me it's becoming a bit too much I've just come out of a relationship, I'm just not wanting to be involved in anything like this. It's weighing me down a little bit..."

On another occasion, she said: "Totally honest here, I just don't want to hear how you feel about me."

The inquest heard Gnr Beck found one incident particularly concerning, allegedly telling her mother: "Mum, I think he's hacked my phone" and "he knows exactly where I'm standing" on a day when Bdr Mason was meant to be away from camp.

Mrs McCready told the inquest her daughter once described her manager as "possessive and psychotic" but said she did not "want to be known as a female troublemaker".

A friend of the late soldier told the inquest Gnr Beck had shown him photographs of a book in which Bdr Mason had written "a love story" about him and the teenager, which "bordered on sexual harassment".

Bombardier John Wheeler added that "inappropriate relationships" were "rife" in the Army at the time of Gnr Beck's death and that he had lost "faith" in the chain of command.

He told the inquest Gnr Beck was "gradually getting more and more down" in the last month of her life but said he was concerned he "would have abused her trust" by reporting Bdr Mason's behaviour on her behalf.

The inquest also heard of an incident in July 2021 involving a married Sergeant who "made a pass" at Gnr Beck and "inappropriately touched" her.

Her mother said: "I think he was much older than her. She told me that she said, 'Get off me sir' but he wouldn't and he kept pushing and pushing and put his hands between her legs."

The inquest was told Gnr Beck slept in her car after the incident because she was worried the Sergeant, who had a wife and child, would "come looking for me".

The event resulted in the Sergeant writing her an apology letter, but Gnr Beck is said to have been upset that he wrote his "door will always be open" for her.

The Army service inquiry report said this was "possibly a factor that may have influenced her failure to report other events that happened subsequently". It added that family issues, including a bereavement, were also responsible for her death, which her family rejects.

It also detailed three other "contributory factors", including the "significant strain" of a sexual relationship with a married colleague in the last few weeks of her life; a relationship that ended in November 2021 involving "repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend"; and an "unhealthy approach to alcohol, with episodes of binge drinking".

It said the teenager had no diagnosed mental health conditions and had not sought welfare support from anyone in the Army.

Mrs McCready said that drinking was "highly encouraged" in the Army, but paid tribute to the teenager for putting her "heart and soul" into her position.

In a tribute to her daughter, she said: "Jayse was the very heart of our family. The loss we feel is beyond words."

The inquest, expected to last two weeks, continues.