A MAN who walked in front of a train at Mill Hill station intended to take his own life, an inquest heard yesterday.

Samuel Mason, 25, was struck by a Preston to Blackburn service just after 9pm on September 30 this year, after he stepped on to the railway line.

The inquest, at Blackburn coroner’s court, was told that Samuel sustained ‘multiple injuries consistent with having been struck by a train’, and that these injuries killed him.

The court heard that Samuel had talked about suicide previously, and that family members believed he was suffering from depression, but he refused to seek medical help.

A statement provided by his mother said that Samuel was one of two boys, and had a ‘normal upbringing’.

His father, who had been a heroin addict, had left home when he was eight or nine-years-old, but they had maintained a relationship.

She also said he had struggled to ‘fit in’ both while at school and after leaving school, and started smoking cannabis from his early teens.

The statement also said he had been affected by the breakdown of his long-term relationship.

A second statement, from his ex-partner, Catherine Murphy, confirmed that she had ended the relationship after he became ‘depressed’, and ‘paranoid’ about their relationship, and moved out of the home they shared. She also said that Samuel had been smoking cannabis and taking other illegal drugs from the age of 14.

She said he had made efforts to rekindle their relationship, and called and her texted regularly, including on the day he died.

The inquest heard that two suicide notes were found by police, believed to be intended for his mother and his ex-partner.

Michael Singleton, senior coroner for Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, said: “I see this all too often and it is tragic.

“I find it very, very sad the number of young men who seem to lose their way. There are so many that don’t take extreme action but just get lost.

“I can’t imagine the pain and grief it leaves in its wake.”