It is nearly two years since a young man from Ellesmere Port decided to take his own life.
As the family of 23-year-old Arthur Tolley, of Cressington Gardens, continue to grieve and prepare to mark the anniversary of his death, his aunt Veronica Page appealed to men who might feel like her nephew to speak up before taking such a final decision.
She said: “Men must be encouraged to share their feelings.
“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Since January 2010 the Pioneer has been reporting on a regular basis deaths by hanging.
“If these deaths were all listed together I believe people would be shocked to the core but because they have been reported as they have happened it goes out of mind.
“Perhaps because I’m a member of a grieving family I noticed how many deaths have been reported.
“I will never forget as long as I live April 19, 2010, when I was called to my brother’s home to find emergency services there because my beautiful nephew Arthur, 23, had taken his own life. His heart was broken.”
The popular former Catholic High School student and his girlfriend had a daughter, who was 13 months old at the time of his passing. But they had suffered a breakdown in their relationship.
Mr Tolley was found hanging from the frame of a wooden wardrobe by two officers and his father John Tolley, a taxi driver who had been downstairs watching television.
Engineering student Mr Tolley’s mother Marcella was asleep in a neighbouring bedroom.
Veronica added: “It was only just before his death he started to talk but the bright lights had well gone out of his eyes.
“He loved and cherished his little daughter, who one day hopefully will know how much he loved her.”
Mr Tolley’s father John spoke at the inquest into his son’s death, where an open verdict was reached.
Referring to an overdose of co-codemol Mr Tolley had taken the month earlier and the mental distress he had felt over his relationship breaking down, John Tolley said: “He was a very proud person, he didn’t speak about emotions, but not near the end when his heart was breaking and his eyes were going darker, then he talked.”
