Colchester train suicide of mental health unit patient

A MAN killed himself after walking out of a mental health unit and stepping in front of a train, a coroner ruled.

Barry Gordon Sargent, 39, left a suicide note before waiting by the tracks near Colchester’s North station.

He then walked in front of a freight train.

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray ruled Mr Sargent killed himself.

Mr Sargent was an informal patient at the Lakes in Colchester, having suffered difficulties for a few years.

Gary Mathias, coroner’s liaison for British Transport Police, said the train driver was heading from London to Felixstowe on April 6 last year at about 2pm.

He was approaching a junction near Colchester and became aware of a person 50 yards ahead at the side of the line.

Mr Mathias said: “The man appeared to notice the train and ran towards the line.”

The driver braked but had very little chance of stopping, the inquest heard.

A post-mortem revealed Mr Sargent died at the scene from multiple injuries.

The inquest heard the family have had meetings with representatives from the Lakes since Mr Sargent’s death.

Mrs Beasley-Murray told his family: “It is very clear, seeing you here, how loved he was.”

2 Comments

  1. 12th February 2011 12:37 pm
    The question the gazette reporter needs to be asking, and if the Lakes do not answer then a freedom of information request needs to be served on them, is on how many occasions each year for the past 5 years have patients at the Lakes been allowed to wander off the site, escape the site, or be let out for some reason unsupervised and not returned to the site. I would be willing to bet at least 1 patient per day if not more.

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