THE family of a teenager who died after being hit by a train has expressed concerns about his mental health treatment prior to his death.

Lewis Williams sadly passed away at the age of 18 on June 21 last year at Slough Train Station following issues with his mental health.

An inquest into his death started at Berkshire’s Coroners Court on Wednesday (June 19), where his family expressed concerns in their witness statement about how his treatment was handled.

READ MORE: CRIME ROUND-UP: Crimes heard in courts across Berkshire this week

The court heard that Lewis had been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), a condition that affects how someone thinks, feels and interacts with other people, following a suicide attempt in February 2022.

However, despite the diagnosis, Lewis attempted to take his own life a second time a month later.

In a family witness statement read out to the court by senior coroner Heidi Connor, the family said: “On this occasion, his risk was assessed as high.

“He was an outpatient at Wexham Park Hospital. I understand he was supposed to be transferred to a mental health hospital but there were no beds available locally or nationally.

“They did tell us he was in contact with mental health services while he was there but I understand this was mostly over the phone rather than face-to-face.”

READ MORE: Barrister urges jury to find men charged with murder of Kyron Lee, 21, guilty

Mrs Connor said she was ‘struck’ by the notion there were no beds available. A mental health nurse from the East Berkshire Crisis Team, who was a witness during the inquest, said that it happens ‘often’ – ‘at least once every couple of months’.

Lewis was eventually moved to a mental health unit for a short period of time before he was allegedly told he needed to leave due to funding having run out, the family claim.

Sadly, he died about two months later.

The family were also concerned about an incident following Lewis’s death in which and ex-British Transport Police (BTP) employee, Joshua Tilt, admitted a misconduct charge after using his personal mobile phone to take a picture of Lewis’s body and sharing it with 12 people on a WhatsApp group message.

Tilt, of Lye Close Lane, Birmingham, was jailed for two years and two months at Birmingham Crown Court on November 4, 2022.

READ MORE: Gory pic taken of teenager's body will not be discussed at his inquest

Lewis’s family still have concerns about the incident, including the lack of reassurance from BTP that an incident like this will not occur again.

However, a legal representative for BTP told the inquest that a separate meeting would need to be arranged to discuss this with the family.