Teenager crashed his mum's car shortly before taking his own life

The body of 19-year-old Jacob Taylor was discovered at a secluded spot in Crawford Woods, Aspull, more than 24 hours after he was first reported missing.

The inquest into his death at Bolton Coroners Court was attended by a large number of Jacob’s family and friends, including his mum Sonia Beech and twin brother Lewis.

Ms Beech told the coroner that when Jacob returned home from the pub late on the evening of Thursday, February 16, he started behaving in a way which was “totally out of character.”

He had gone out again to the home of his partner, Ellie Ascroft, with whom he was described as having an “on-off relationship,” and then returned home after being told he could not stay there.

After saying he would sleep on the couch, he went out again, this time in his mum’s car, unbeknown to her and even though he was not a qualified driver.

When he returned home again, he told his shocked mum that he’d crashed the car into some fencing or a wall, causing damage to one of the wing mirrors, a headlight, and the bonnet.

This led to an argument, during which he went upstairs to pack a bag and then jumped out of the ground-floor window. He then returned shoeless to his partner’s home and began throwing stones at the window to wake her.

Jacob had also sent a voicemail saying “this was the last time anyone would hear his voice and to tell everyone that he loved them,” although this was not discovered until later.

His mum raised the alarm when he failed to return home and a full-scale search was launched. The next day (Saturday), a man who was trying out his metal detector with his grandson discovered Jacob’s body in the woods, around 200 yards from Ms Ascroft’s home.

Jacob was confirmed dead at the scene by paramedics. A post-mortem revealed alcohol and a small amount of cocaine in his system.

His partner Ellie told the inquest that Jacob – who worked as a store assistant at Tesco – had opened up to her about his mental health struggles. He had also visited his GP complaining of anxiety, depression, and having suicidal thoughts.

The coroner, Prof Dr Alan Wash, gave the cause of death as hanging and recorded a conclusion of suicide.

He told the family: “This was such an enormous waste of a young life at the age of 19. He had a good family and he worked and wanted to work. His ex-partner also couldn’t have done more to help him.”

Speaking after the inquest, his mum Sonia said Jacob was a “mad Man City fan who lived life to the full.”

She added: “He had many friends and around 250 people attended his funeral.”

Sonia said she was determined that her son’s death should not be in vain, and to try to stop other families going through what she has gone through.

To this end, she has helped set up an Aspull branch of EPiC HOPE, an organisation launched earlier this year to try to tackle the sensitive and difficult issue of suicide in Wigan.

If you need to talk to someone, call Samaritans for free at any time on 116 123.