A “pleasant" young man who was the life and soul of the party and was known to his nieces as ‘Funcle Jake” took his own life, in what a senior coroner has described as a tragic outcome.

At an inquest in Preston, Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, said more help was needed for young men to help prevent cases of suicide, following the death of Jake Broughton.

Jake, who was described by his partner Olivia Greatbanks and his sister, Holly Chapman, as having a sensitive side but was “spontaneous, fun-loving, and always up for an adventure”, was found in his flat on the evening of November 23 by his brother-in-law, Sam Chapman.

It was heard that Jake had not turned up for work on the morning of Thursday November 23, after being out drinking for a friend’s birthday the night before.

Concern was raised by his boss, who contacted his sister. At around 8pm, Mr Chapman went round to Jake’s home, in Church Street, Barnoldswick, but found him dead inside the property.

The inquest was told how Jake, who was training to be an electrician, was struggling with the death of a friend and had expressed on two occasions in the summer that he wanted to harm himself.

However, according to Miss Greatbanks and Mrs Chapman, who both gave evidence at the inquest, the threats of harm usually occurred after he had had a drink and taken drugs, and the following morning he would return to normal.

Miss Greatbanks said there was an incident in July last year where Jake had taken an overdose, and an ambulance was called.

He was signposted to the mental health team and a referral was made, but when the mental health nurses attempted to make contact with the 26-year-old, he didn’t respond.

It was also heard that Jake didn’t particularly like to be alone in his flat, and on Wednesday November 22, after heading home at the end of his night with pals, he continued drinking at another friend, Alex Gwinnett’s, house.

Dr Adeley said that at around 12am, Jake asked Mr Gwinnett if he could stay the night, but Mr Gwinnett said he needed to go to bed as he had work in the morning.

Mr Gwinnett said in his statement: “We were drinking beers and he asked how I was, and we chatted.

“He seemed normal, and I didn’t have any concerns about him.

“As it got to midnight, I told him I needed to go to bed as I had work in the morning, and he asked to stay, and I said no as I needed to be up for work.

“He said he didn’t need to be up until 10am anyway as he was getting picked up for work from the bus station, and I locked the door and went to bed.

“The last time I saw him was around midnight.”

Dr Adeley said a neighbour of Jake’s had made a report following the discovery of his death, in which they told police they’d heard a loud bang coming from Jake’s flat at around 1am on Thursday November 23.

DI Stephen Montgomery from Lancashire Police said it was his hypothesis that Jake had returned home that night after being with Mr Gwinnett and had taken his own life in his flat.

Police were satisfied that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Jake’s death and a post-mortem examination was carried out which also came back with no concerns.

Toxicology showed Jake had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time he died.

Dr Adeley said: “Jake didn’t like being alone in his flat, and we don’t know what he was thinking at the time. He’s taken alcohol on board from which he didn’t make good decisions.

“I conclude that he did intend to take his own life, and this is a tragic outcome.”

Dr Adeley returned a suicide conclusion, and added: “Jake was a very pleasant young man who loved life and was the life and soul of the party.

"He was known by his nieces as 'funcle' and was also described by his partner and sister as having a sensitive side.

"He didn't deal with things very well and could take them out of proportion, which was the case when he'd had a drink, but the following day he was normal and would be dealing with things in his normal way. 

"Young men are prone to suicide, but it tends to be from impulsive acts and if they had more time to consider what they were doing, they would still be here today.

“There is a recurrent theme in young males taking their own lives in today’s society and one that needs more work to prevent and address tragic cases like this.”

If you or anyone else has been affected by the details in this report, or if you know of anyone who is struggling at the moment, you can contact the Samaritans free of charge on 116 123.

Alternatively, Andy’s Man Club, a men's suicide prevention charity, which offers free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups across the United Kingdom and online, has support centres in Blackburn, Burnley, Preston, Chorley, Blackpool, Bolton, Oldham, Bury, Rochdale, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden.

Andy’s Man Club can be contacted via https://andysmanclub.co.uk/full-club-lists/