A loving father-of-three took his own life after reaching out to mental health services a number of times.

Scott Pharo, 35, was found in Hameldon Woods, Hapton, on October 9, 2019, two days after he was reported missing.

An inquest at Accrington Town Hall on Monday (January 10) heard how Scott had suffered with his mental health for about a year and had self-referred to psychiatric home treatment in September.

His wife Caroline came home from work on October 7, 2019, and found Scott to be missing.

She contacted the police as she was concerned about his mental health and the fact he had tried to take his life before.

A search for Scott, of Hawthorne Gardens, Clayton-le-Moors, began, with CCTV capturing him walking towards Accrington Victoria Hospital at about 12.45pm on the day he went missing.

His body was found two days later. A toxicology report determined the medical cause of death to be an overdose.

Before referring himself to Lancashire mental health services, he visited his mother, father and brother in Wakefield, where he was born, and referred himself to services there during his stay of about a fortnight.

On his most recent referral in Lancashire, Scott was assessed by a doctor who said that, despite saying he had been having suicidal thoughts, he had no intention or plan to act on these and it was believed that it was ‘proportionate and appropriate’ to offer Scott home treatment.

In the past, Scott had been prescribed medication but he did not believe it was working and took himself off it.

He was prescribed a new medication and was given home treatment visits three times per week.

In Scott’s ‘crisis’ call, he told the doctor that he had low motivation, disturbed sleep and had lost weight due to losing him appetite.

The family said that Scott was trying everything he could to get better but he was still struggling.

They added that during the home visits, Scott asked the home team if he could be admitted to hospital, but the family say his requests were denied.

Caroline said: “The hopelessness and everything, he was feeling that and he told them [home treatment team].

“He did want to get better but that didn’t mean he wasn’t feeling them.

“Who in their right mind would ask to leave their family, their children who he loved dearly and go into hospital?”

Nick King, patient safety lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, said that, due to a lack of mental health beds, the threshold for hospital admission has gone up.

Mr King said: “If Scott needed to go into hospital, we would have revisited that point.

“Mental health wards are not therapeutic like people may think, they are often very distressing.”

He received regular treatment after his referral on September 25, having had a follow-up on the same day, a further appointment on September 26, the discussion with the doctor on October 1 and another home referral appointment on October 4.

Coroner Richard Taylor concluded that Scott had died as a result of suicide.

Anyone struggling with their mental health can reach out to services such as the Samaritans’ free helpline on 116 123.