FITNESS checks carried out on a seaman just minutes before he shot dead one of his Royal Navy colleagues were “not good enough”, an inquest heard.

Able Seaman Ryan Donovan went on a murderous rampage that resulted in the death of Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux, just moments after being handed a loaded rifle for sentry duty.

The crazed gunman fired seven shots, one of which killed Lt Cdr Molyneux, 36, when HMS Astute was docked in Southampton on April 8, 2011.

Richard Wilkinson, representing Lt Cdr Molyneux’s widow Gillian, told Southamp-ton Coroner’s Court that an assessment of Donovan’s condition could only have been “a cursory one”.

The inquest earlier heard that Donovan, 23, was almost twice the drink drive limit when he carried out the fatal shooting, after going on a 48-hour drinking binge during his time ashore in Southampton.

The court heard statements from fellow crew members who described Donovan as being “still drunk” on the morning of the shooting.

But a routine “sniff and eyeball check” carried out by Petty Officer Christopher Brown failed to discover that Donovan was inebriated.

PO Brown, 36, told the court: “I can only go on what I saw at the gun locker.

“I was stood a foot or a foot and a half away from him at all times so I know what condition he was in, and he seemed absolutely fine.

“No one came to me to express concern about what Donovan had been up to.”

Southampton Coroner’s Court earlier heard how PO Brown and a colleague, Chief Petty Officer David McCoy, were Donovan’s original targets, after they disciplined him for disobeying a direct order to clean part of the submarine.

Donovan had been lined up to leave HMS Astute for an operational tour on RFA Cardigan Bay, but was told he would no longer be getting that opportunity because of his actions.

The court heard how CPO McCoy, 37, was only on board HMS Astute at the time of the shooting to meet with PO Brown about the tour.

CPO McCoy needed to get a series of forms filled in to allow a different crew member to go on the attachment in Donovan’s place.

He told Southampton Coroner’s Court that he exchanged pleasantries with Donovan as he walked away with the gun, saying that he “seemed fine”. But just seconds later Donovan turned and began firing.

CPO McCoy said: “I just heard a bang. Straight away I went down to my knees.

“I never knew it was a gunshot at first, I thought it was an air valve going off above us.

“When I looked around Donovan was walking towards us and I’d seen smoke coming out of the barrel.

“He was looking at me, just walking towards me, squeezing the trigger.

“In his eyes, when he saw me and Brown we were the bad guys, the ones who stopped him going on his operational tour.”

CPO MCoy then described how he scrambled down a ladder to the deck below before taking cover in the weapons storage department.

Donovan, who was 22 at the time of the shooting, is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of father-of-four Lt Cdr Molyneux.

Proceeding.