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A French soldier's 'souvenir' anti-tank rocket fell form his office wall and caused, a court heard.

One colleague lost both his legs, another had a foot and testicle blown off, and a third is now completely deaf.

The officer was given a three year suspended prison sentence yesterday at a court in Caen, northern France.

The 43-year-old defendant, who has not been named, suffered shrapnel wounds and told a court in Caen, northern France, that he did not realise the weapon was armed.

He was convicted of causing injury through his negligence in the incident, which happened in 2007 at a barracks near Caen.

The anti-tank rocket was a 'battlefield souvenir' which he had kept in an office he shared with three comrades 'for years', he told the court.

Following his conviction, the soldier broke down in tears and admitted that it 'had been my fault'.