A man's body was found in the canal, after being suspended from his job.
An inquest heard that Darren Hindley, 54, took his own life after suffering with depression and being suspended from his job around 10 days before his death. The support worker for Wigan Council was described as being a "hard worker" who "really enjoyed helping people" by family and friends.
Darren's mum, Yvonne Hindley said he was reported missing from her home in Atherton on the morning of January 18. His body was discovered in the Leigh branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, that evening.
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The MEN reports Mrs Hindley told Bolton Coroner's Court that a trigger for his depression could have been his dad leaving when Darren was 18. She added that Darren's first wife had died and that his second marriage broken down.
She said: "He could have been a lot happier." Mrs Hindley added: "He was always a hard worker. He wasn’t a lazy man at all. He didn’t have much time off. I was telling him he was working too many hours."
Darren had been staying at his mum's house at the time of his death, recalling their last phone conversation, Mrs Hindley said: "I asked if he was alright and he just said 'I’m tired mum, I’m just so so tired'. He sounded as if he had the world on his shoulders."
Darren's partner of 11 years, Elisa Hari, told the inquest that he was suspended from his job around 10 days before his death over accusations made against him that were not detailed during the hearing. She said: "The weekend before [his death] he was very distressed because work told him they'd update him on the Friday about the investigation but he didn't receive a call so he spiralled between Friday and Sunday,"
She added that he found it very difficult to think about anything else, she said: "He wasn't sleeping, he wasn't eating, he was pacing, he couldn't engage in normal conversation." In a statement, service manager Victoria Lowe confirmed that Wigan Council had informed Darren of an investigation and said that the council had provided him with a link to get support.
On January 11, Darren was prescribed antidepressants after telling an out-of-hours GP that he was having problems at work and suffering with insomnia. Ms Hari said that he made an effort to take the medication every night before bed. The inquest heard that Darren split his time between his mum's house and Ms Hari's home.
Ms Hari said that on January 16, he said that he would stay at his mum's but she was worried he was not in the right mental state to drive and persuaded him to leave the following morning. On the morning of January 17, Ms Hari asked Darren if he was having suicidal thoughts before he left to go to his mum's house.
She said: "I'd never asked him before but he looked so terrible and because of my job, I recognised that's how he presented."
After reassuring Ms Hari that he was not suicidal, Darren went to his mum's. That evening he rang Ms Hari after receiving a text from work. Ms Hari added: "He read it to me and I interpreted that it meant they hadn’t started investigation yet. I think that was overwhelming for him.
"I rang him back later but there was no response. I was worried so the next morning (January 18) I sent another text but there was no answer, then I tried to phone him at lunch but his phone was turned off."
Ms Hari contacted Darren's best friend of 40 years Paul Wilkinson, who lived close to Darren's mum, and asked him to check on Darren. After going around to check on Darren, Ms Hari was greeted by police.
Police coroner's officer Julieann Hyde told the court that a bag belonging to Darren had been found at around 11pm on January 18. His body was discovered at around 11.30pm.
A number of suicide notes to friends and family were also found in Darren's car. Ms Hyde told the court: "It showed clear planning and intention."
Following a post mortem, pathologist Dr Stephen Wells recorded "drowning" as the medical cause of Darren's death. A toxicology report showed that he also had alcohol and cannabis in his system but these were not recorded as contributory factors.
Assistant coroner for Manchester West Stephen Teasdale said that Darren had been "unhappy" and was "having difficulty coping" prior to his death. He reached a conclusion of suicide.
Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you're feeling, or if you're worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org.
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