'He always told people he loved them': Heartbroken tributes to 'soft, loving man' who never got over losing mum

Heartbroken relatives have paid tribute to a "really soft, loving man" who passed away after struggling to cope with the death of his mother.

The body of John James Beardsworth - known as Peter - was found in his flat with his beloved companion Staffordshire bull terrier 'Sash' on September 20, 2021.

From the age of 19, he had been addicted to cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin.

The 31-year-old had also suffered long-standing alcohol issues until finally getting clean in 2017.

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But he found himself back in rehab in 2020.

Peter's family remembered a young man who 'always told people when he loved them' in a moving tribute.

Sister Heather Beardsworth, 41, said addiction probably caused the schizoaffective disorder which led to him being housed in supported accommodation in Wigan.

She told the Manchester Evening News: "It was the drugs that caused his mental health problems.

"But our mum's death five years previously also hit him very hard. Because he used to drink a lot, he never really grieved for our mum.

"He was a really soft, loving man.

"He would always tell people when he loved them. He wasn't shy about expressing his emotions."

Sasgh is now being looked over by relatives.

On September 20, last year a support worker at the Brookfield flats complex in Scot Lane, Joanne Barlow, went to check on him but found him hanging in the bathroom.

Brookfield manager Annette Degiorgio then performed CPR on Peter, but he was unresponsive.

On Monday (March 7), a statement read out to an inquest at Bolton Coroners' Court from Peter's sister Vanessa Butterworth and verified by Heather, revealed that he had problems with alcohol addiction