Just heard about this on ITV news. Very sad. Telegraph online article follows:
"A colleague of the female police officers who were killed by Dale Cregan filled out his own death report before hanging himself in a park, an inquest heard. Andrew Summerscales, 46, was one of the first on the scene where his “very good friends” Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32, were murdered in September 2012.
His son Joshua, 21, told the inquest that his father’s life “changed that day” as he sank into a depression and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had “loved” being a police officer, but always struggled to cope with the loss of his colleagues, who were lured to their deaths by Cregan.
The 33-year-old drug dealer, who was already wanted by police for the double murder of a father and son, put in a bogus call to the police before killing the female officers in a gun and grenade attack in Hattersley, Greater Manchester. He continues to serve life in prison without parole.
Stockport Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard that Mr Summerscales went back to work after receiving treatment for depression, but eventually left the police in November 2015 after 15 years' service.
Joanne Kearsley, area coroner for Manchester South, said she had no doubt that the circumstances of WPC Hughes and WPC Bone’s deaths “affected him greatly” - but the court also heard details of other tragedies in his life. The ex-officer, originally from Oldham, was a life-long Liverpool FC fan and had been in the Leppings Lane end on the day of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, later attending memorial events at Anfield to remember the 96 fans who lost their lives.
The court was told that prior to his death, he suffered a “relapse" in his mental health, and then sent emails and goodbye text messages to friends and colleagues telling them he intended to take his own life in the early hours of August 30 last year. He also filled out his own death report on official police paperwork, which was found in his pocket, along with a body identity tag used by police to ascertain who has died, before hanging himself in Stalybridge. Tests revealed there were no drugs or alcohol in his body.
Previously, he had found a member of the public hanged in the same spot on a children’s climbing frame while walking in the park off duty in April 2015.
His GP Dr Barbara Ellis, who treated him following the death of his colleagues who worked on the same shift at Greater Manchester Police (GMP), signed him off work for around 12 months while he took anti-depressants and underwent psychological therapies. But each year around the time of the murders he would begin to feel "very down and not able to cope", and on "several occasions" had talked about suicidal thoughts, Dr Ellis said.
Almost four years to the anniversary of the killings, Detective Inspector Ian Harratt told the inquest he was called after the body of Mr Summerscales, a father of one, was discovered. He said: "He had filled out his own death report and his own identity bracelet." The officer said Pc Colette Tattersall had received an email, dated at 1.12am on August 30, from Mr Summerscales saying he intended to take his own life.
GMP's own consultant psychiatrist, Dr Ian Rogerson, said he had seen and discharged Mr Summerscales in July 2013 after he was "much improved", though he was still on anti-depressants and receiving therapy to help his mental health.
His ex-girlfriend, Carly Weston, said in a statement they had had a "great relationship" until Cregan’s attack, and they separated eight months later but remained good friends. She said: "I tried to help him as much as I could but he was in a very dark place. His moods remained very up and down. He returned to work eventually and seemed to be coping. A number of other things also contributed. Early on in our relationship he said he had been at Hillsborough Stadium on the day of the incident and that had affected him. He had been in the crowd in the Leppings Lane end." After leaving the police in November 2015, he found “new focus” working as a delivery driver, the inquest heard, but struggled to overcome his old demons.
Ms Kearsley, concluding that Mr Summerscales took his own life, said: "He had endured a number of tragedies through his life. There's no doubts the events of September 2012 affected him greatly. "He had some help and assistance after that incident but clearly and quite understandably he struggled to continue his role as a police officer. "I think probably he was relapsing at the time he died. I have no doubt at the time he died he was suffering a relapsing of the condition he had suffered since 2012." Addressing his son Joshua, she added: "You should be very proud, I have no doubt he suffered a number of tragic events through his life and I'm very thankful for you giving evidence."
