Man who broke both legs on flume scared of being crippled, inquest hears

An inquest into his death led by coroner Christopher Wilkinson concluded he had taken his own life.

Six months before, in August 2021, Dundee-born Mr Douglas and Claire Vickeres broke into Aldershot Lido at 2am following a day of drinking. Mr Douglas had also taken cocaine.

The pair stripped off their clothing and went down a waterslide and crashed into a barrier at the bottom. Mr Douglas broke both legs and was forced to move into supported housing as he was wheelchair-bound during his recovery.

The inquest heard that following the accident in August 2021, Mr Douglas was depressed and worried about money. He also expressed concerns that he could be left crippled.

In a statement, his mother Ruth said: “The accident didn’t help his frame of mind but he didn’t say he was depressed to me.

“He complained about cold in his flat, so I asked him to come home to Scotland, but being independent he refused.

“He was worried about money, going from a full-time wage to benefits was a big drop. He was desperate to get back to work but he was told it could take two years to be fit again, and there was a concern that he could be left crippled.”

Mr Douglas was dependent on alcohol, drinking up to one litre of vodka per day, and was also an occasional user of cocaine and heroin.

On February 17 one of Mr Douglas’ friends contacted staff at the supported housing because they were concerned they had not heard from him in a few days.

Staff carried out a welfare check in Mr Douglas’ flat and found him dead. It is believed he had died up to a day before his body was found.

A post-mortem examination found his medical cause of death was hanging. Mr Douglas had alcohol 4.3 times the drink drive limit in his system.

The coroner Mr Wilkinson said: “Mr Douglas took his own life impulsively while under the influence of alcohol.”