A WROUGHTON man took his own life after his mum was moved to a care home, Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Court heard.

Craig Anderson, 52, had a history of depression and had warned his family he would kill himself if his mother, who he had looked after for a number of years, was put in a care home.

Last summer, the mother-of-five was moved to into a residential care home. Mr Anderson also moved – but to sheltered accommodation in Markham Place, Wroughton.

His mental health suffered. Trevor Anderson, Craig’s brother, said in a statement: “It was as if he had lost her.”

At around 6.45am on January 2 he was struck by a Bristol-bound train near Rushey Platt. His green-and-white mountain bike was found nearby.

The court heard Mr Anderson had suffered from depression for much of his life and was taking anti-depressants, but from July 2019 his mental health deteriorated.

In October last year he was referred to Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership’s primary care liaison team by a social worker, who noted the man was struggling with the fact his mother had been placed in residential care.

On November 1, he was reported to be standing beside a railway line in Swindon. He told a mental health nurse in the police control room he felt his life had lost purpose.

Over the following two months he was referred to the liaison team a number of times by his GP and other health workers. His social worker emailed the primary care team in early December to flag her concerns about his low mood and suicidal feelings.

The court heard he was taken to Great Western Hospital on Christmas Eve having taken an overdose of his medication. He described himself as a negative person, said he was struggling to settle into his new accommodation and spoke of having suicidal thoughts. The risk to himself was categorised as low by health professionals.

Five days later he was on a bridge over the M4. He told police officers he was “getting some air” and was taken home. The next day, NHS mental health teams called him back after he left a message. He said he felt trapped in his new accommodation and could not sleep.

Mr Anderson told the intensive care team manager on New Year’s Eve he wanted to be sectioned and turned down offers of help from the intensive team unless he was taken to hospital. A mental health nurse assessed him as being at medium risk of taking his own life. He did not have an “enduring mental health need”, the assessment found. In a care plan it was said he would work with mental health service Lift Psychology.

He was struck by a Bristol-bound GWR train on tracks near Rushey Platt at around 6.45am on January 2.

It was dark and train driver Jason Hall said he had seen a flash of white and believed the locomotive had hit a badger, as animal strikes were relatively common on that stretch of track. He checked the front of the train at Chippenham station.

It was only when he was on the return journey to London Paddington that Mr Hall saw human remains by the side of the track. He stopped the train and called police. Mr Anderson was pronounced dead at 8.45am.

Assistant coroner Ian Singleton recorded a conclusion of suicide. He expressed his condolences to Mr Anderson’s sister, who attended the inquest.

The Samaritans is available to help anybody in distress and can be reached at any time on 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org