Ben Riches: mother of Army veteran found hanged at his Fleetwood home says his personality changed in run-up to his death

Carolyn Riches told an inquest at Preston into the death of her son Ben: “He used to be so happy – he would light up a room. But his experiences in the Army had clearly had an effect on him, such as nightmares, but he never wanted to talk about it. He was very good at pulling fences up when I tried to talk about it with him.”

Ben’s wife Lauren said he had suffered nightmares since being discharged from the Army and that had caused them to sleep apart. He had also hit her on several occasions, after having drunk heavily. Ben, who served both in Iraq 2008 and then in Afghanistan in 2010, was found at his home address April 11, 2019 less than three weeks after being pulled from the sea at Fleetwood beach following an attempt on his life.

He had joined the army in 2005 aged 16, was deployed to Iraq in 2007, aged 18 and faced several life-threatening actions, including being a victim of a roadside bomb, an incident which eventually led to hearing loss and his medical discharge in 2014. He was then deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of Operation Herric 12.

A number of his friends were killed during that tour, his mother said. “Both tours appeared to have a lasting impact on Ben,” she said. “It affects them all, at such a young age, and we were concerned about his mental health.”

A year after Ben was medically discharged in June 2014 due to his hearing failing to meet the required standard, a fire at his house left him badly burned and with life-changing injuries, which included he loss of his hair. From 2018 onwards, Ben’s mental health appeared to deteriorate and there were numerous incidents where he was detained by the police under their s136 powers under the Mental Health Act. But on each occasion, he was discharged following assessment by mental health professionals due to them apparently linking his self-harming behaviours to alcohol misuse.

In August 2018, he was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital by police after running into traffic. He was seen at the hospital by consultant psychiatrist Dr Mukul Sharma. When he first arrived, he was judged to be too drunk for an assessment and when Dr Sharma saw him the following morning, he felt Ben was co-operating and not showing any signs of psychosis so was discharged. "I was aware of his history with he Army so recommended he consult the PTSD specialist team but he said he didn’t think he suffered from that condition,” said Dr Sharma.

A few days later, Ben taken into custody by police, who were called an incident which saw arguing in the the street with his wife and carrying a piece of glass with which he had cut his arm, after which he was referred to the veterans’ aid service Project Nova. Mental heath social worker Sharon Watts said Ben, in being assessed by her at the police station, had referred to PTSD as a ‘made-up concept’ while liaison and diversion team support worker Hugh Scholar. said: "When we talked, Ben was fidgety and denied he had PTSD, saying ‘it was the fire that had got him’.”

Ben was found at the bottom of steps in his home on April 11, 2019, hanged. His blood alcohol level was 304 mg. The driving limit is 80mg. The inquest, being conducted by senior coroner Dr James Adeley, continues.