Ice hockey player was found hanged

AN ice hockey player with a history of ‘low moods’ was found hanged in a derelict mill several weeks after suffering a ‘serious’ head injury in a match.

An inquest heard how Robert Craig’s personality changed ‘quite significantly’ after crashing into a goalpost and he became ‘more depressed’ and ‘more vocal’ about self-harm.

The 30-year-old called emergency services at around 1.10am on June 21 last year and said he was going to hang himself at a disused mill on Rose Bank, Edenfield. When officers arrived they found him dead in the basement area.

Burnley Coroners Court heard how in the hours before his death he had searched online for ‘anger psychologists’ and also how to hang himself.

Police called Mr Craig back a minute after his 999 call and again at 1.25am, but he didn’t answer. His phone had other missed calls from his partner Sadie Alston, his father and a friend.

Pathologist Dr Richard Prescott said Mr Craig, of Rawsthorne Avenue, Edenfield, died of hanging. A post-mortem examination and a brain scan found no evidence of any head trauma following the ice hockey crash.

Mr Craig’s sister Emma Hazel said they grew up in Ramsbottom and he attended Woodhey High. An ice hockey fan, he played for Wyre Seagulls and was a driver for a fruit and veg company.

Ms Hazel told the inquest her brother would have ‘unpredictable low and bad moods’.

Ms Alston said she ‘thought his personality changed’ after the ice hockey injury. The inquest heard that he ‘wouldn’t show up’ to GP appointments. A few days before his death Mr Craig sent a text message to Ms Alston saying he had taken an overdose of tablets and he was taken to hospital.

Coroner James Newman said the head injury ‘precipitated quite a significant change in personality’ and his mood was ‘spiralling down in the days before his death’.

However, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Mr Craig hoped to be found before his death.

Recording a narrative conclusion, he said: “The phone call to the emergency services just adds to my mind a kernel of doubt. It would be unfair to return a suicide conclusion.”