A FAMILY has been left “devastated” by the death of a man who jumped from a railway bridge.

An inquest into the death of 38-year-old, Jocelyn Stewart, heard how he had jumped from a railway bridge on Upper High Street, Winchester.

Mr Stewart, who lived at Balgarum Place, Staple Gardens, was described by his father as a “pleasant, polite and very caring” person “who loved all aspects of the countryside”.

He had a history of mental health problems and had suffered with paranoid schizophrenia most of his life.

The incident took place on May 28 and Mr Stewart had spoken to his parents beforehand indicating that he wanted to kill himself.

Emergency services were called but he had already jumped and was located under the bridge on the railway line.

After waiting for the electricity to be cut to the line, ambulance workers attempted to resuscitate Mr Stewart who was said to have gone into cardiac arrest and not breathing, but despite this, he couldn’t be saved.

In a statement read out at the inquest at Winchester Coroner’s Court, Mr Stewart’s father said: “Having closely looked after Jocelyn all his short life, we are both absolutely devastated that he chose to end his life.

“At our age of late 70s the whole thing is a totally inexplicable nightmare, from which we will probably never recover.”

Mr Stewart had recently been discharged from Hollybank rehabilitation centre in Havant where he had been getting help with his schizophrenia.

He was apparently missing facial contact with his parents, but was having regular contact with the mental health team.

He last saw his parents the week before he died when he went for a walk with his mother over the same bridge he later jumped from.

The coroner ruled that Mr Stewart had intended to take his own life, and that he died as a result of multiple injuries that he sustained in the f

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