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‘Lovely’ dad from Wigan died after struggling with mental health issues
The twenty-nine-year-old allegedly kept his emotions to himself in the wake of his mother’s death
A ‘lovely’ dad from Wigan died by suicide after a lengthy battle with mental health issues, an inquest has heard this week.
Dad-of-two Gareth Lancaster was found unresponsive at his home on Baytree Road, Beech Hill, at around 8pm on June 8th.
Emergency services were called and Gareth was rushed to Wigan Royal Infirmary, where he was taken into intensive care.
However, doctors suspected he had a severe brain injury, which was confirmed thirty-six hours after admission thanks to brain stem tests.
The decision was then made to withdraw life support.
Gareth, who worked as a plumbing and heating engineer, died on June 10th aged twenty-nine, with his cause of death recorded as hypoxic brain injury due to hanging.
Gaz Lancaster / Facebook
According to his partner Tandia Constantine, Gareth – known among friends and family as ‘Gaz’ – was not the kind of person to seek help, and had kept his emotions to himself when his mother died from cancer.
Coroner Peter Sigee said a handwritten note was found at the scene, which he interpreted as ‘a statement of intent on Gareth’s behalf to end his life’.
He concluded that Gareth had died by suicide, saying he was satisfied that he intended to end his life.
During the hearing, Gareth was described as a ‘funny, hard-working and outgoing’ man who ‘doted’ on his two children and liked socialising with his family and friends.
After the hearing, Zena Ralphs, the mother of Gareth’s partner, said: “He was a lovely lad. He was the best lad you could ever meet, the hardest worker you could ever meet.
“His little ones have no daddy now.”
If you’re struggling with mental health issues, there are people out there you can talk to.
For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123. You can also email the Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org, write to Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA or visit www.samaritans.org/branches to find your nearest branch.
You can also contact the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) at 0800 58 58 58 or via their website here.
Alternatively, you can find more mental health services around Greater Manchester on the NHS Foundation Trust website.