Fawley oil refinery truck driver alleged bullying and cocaine use before death
A DUMPER truck driver hanged himself after allegedly being bullied by his boss over a pair of stolen boots and pressured into taking cocaine, it was claimed at an inquest.
Tristan Wildman, who worked for Brown and Mason – a contractor at Fawley’s ExxonMobil oil refinery – had also spoken of struggling to “cope with demons”, Winchester Coroner’s Court heard.
The 22-year-old was found hanged at his temporary home at Cambria Drive, Hythe, by work colleague Steven Penn just after 9am on Monday 13th August last year.
His mother, Sola, aimed criticisms at Hampshire Police after officers struggled to find the address her son lived at in the 90 or so minutes before he was found.
Originally from Kent, Mr Wildman returned to the area at weekends but on Sunday evenings was picked up by a minibus chartered by Mason and Brown and driven to Hythe for the working week.
He spent the weekend before his death with his mother and his girlfriend, Ms Chloe Devlin, but behaved erratically on the Sunday night and later sent a series of worrying messages.
One, which Ms Devlin found when she woke the following morning, apologised for being “selfish”, thanked her for giving him “hope” and said he “could not cope with the demons”, the inquest heard.
She warned him she would phone the police, but he turned his phone off. After being alerted, Kent officers initially went to his mother’s address, who said her son would likely be at Hythe.
Hampshire Police were alerted at 7.10am that morning and started a search, but officers were unsure of exactly where Mr Wildman was living.
As time went on, Mr Wildman’s employers became concerned after he had not shown up to work and sent Mr Penn to his address where he found Mr Wildman dead just after 9am. Officers showed up soon after.
At the inquest, Mrs Wildman questioned Hampshire officer PC Daniel Buck, who led the search, adding: “My son could have been found.”
It was explained that the week before, Mr Wildman had stayed at a different address on the same road, while police only had his motorbike as a search reference.
Mrs Wildman said she enjoyed a close relationship with her “sensitive but strong” son and they often exchanged messages. He had told her, she claimed, cocaine use was “rife” among Brown & Mason workers.
“He confided in his new girlfriend that he was surrounded by people sniffing coke all the time and his colleagues were off their faces most of the time,” she said.
“He succumbed to peer pressure and began to use. Tristan did by then have a problem with cocaine and wanted to get away from it all.”
Her son, she went on, also claimed his work boots had been stolen, so he had taken another pair that it transpired belonged to a colleague.
“Tristan was being bullied by his boss, Steve,” she said, and had been called a “thief” and “pikey”.
Mrs Wildman had “no idea’ her son was depressed or suicidal, but added she had had several breakdowns when he was growing up. As a result, he had been given counselling when young.
She said Mr Wildman struggled at school with behavioural problems, and had been expelled before settling down when he studied to become a mechanic.
He joined the Royal Engineers but was discharged from the army in February 2018 after downing paracetamol and vodka in an attempted overdose – apparently over fears he would fail an army fitness test and after being rejected by a girl during a night out.
Army psychologist Dr Janine Dunn assessed him before recommending his discharge and said he was “stress vulnerable” and “emotionally immature”, but did not need treatment or medication.
The inquest heard Mr Wildman struck up a relationship with Ms Devlin after the pair matched on dating app Tinder in September last year.
He had told her of some of his previous problems, she said, and also admitted to using cocaine and cannabis which he said cured his anxiety.
No suicide notes were found at the address but a series of messages – not read out at the inquest – were sent on social media to his family, friends and girlfriend.
PC Buck said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. An empty bottle of cognac and cannabis were also found.
Toxicology tests revealed Mr Wildman’s blood alcohol level to be 103 milligrams – the drink drive limit is 80 – and there were recreational traces of cocaine and cannabis in his bloodstream.
Senior Coroner Grahame Short determined Mr Wildman hanged himself and officially recorded suicide.
“It’s significant to note he took an overdose of paracetamol and alcohol in February 2018, as a result of which he was discharged from the army,” Mr Short said.
He noted the army psychologist’s findings and stated that at the time of his death Mr Wildman was not receiving treatment or medication, counselling or therapy.
Mr Short noted that in the hours before his death Mr Wildman had sent a “long message” to his girlfriend, and a subsequent exchange indicated he was still alive at 7.30am on the day he died.
“It’s very unfortunate to say the least that she did not know where precisely Tristan was at that time because he was not answering his phone and then turned it off,” he said.
Noting the toxicology levels, Mr Short said he thought Mr Wildman was “finding it hard living away from home”, adding “he obviously had some issues” in his employment.
Mr Short concluded: “No doubt he was responsible for his own death and I believe he intended to take his own life.”
