Tragedy of dad-of-three, 29, who took his own life the day after rejecting help from mental health services

A dad-of-three took his own life a day after rejecting further help from mental health services, a coroner has concluded. Liam Ratcliffe, 29, was found unresponsive at his home in on April 13 after police received a concern for welfare call.

He was tragically found hanged. Liam had been suffering depression following the death of his father two years earlier, Bolton Coroners' Court heard.

In the months leading up to his death, he had also broken up with the mother of one of his children and suffered an injury that forced him to stop playing rugby.

Coroner Peter Sigee read out a statement prepared by Liam’s mum Gaynor Ratcliffe, in which she said her son was brought up in Leigh, but was living in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, at the time of his death. She described Mr Ratcliffe as a 'massive rugby league fan' and said he had played competitively since the age of five.

In the statement, Mrs Ratcliffe also said her son loved boxing, football and golf, and that he often went fishing and played darts.

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Speaking to Mrs Ratcliffe about the statement, Mr Sigee said: “You tell me about the loss of Liam’s father in April 2020 and how much that had upset Liam, as well as everyone else who had known him. You told me you believe that from that point on, Liam suffered with his mental health.”

On April 5 of this year, Liam was rushed to hospital after attempting to overdose on paracetamol. He was seen at Warrington Hospital by mental health nurse Tracey Woods. Ms Woods told the hearing that during the consultation, Liam was 'initially quite short', but eventually 'warmed up'.

She said: “He spoke at length about his