A depressed, unemployed man died from severe burns after he set himself alight in Bradford city centre, an inquest heard.
Richard Keighley, 33, was seen carrying a green petrol can and flicking a lighter over parts of his body before he burst into flames in the forecourt of the former Tyrls police station in November.
He was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary and transferred to the burns unit at Whiston Hospital in Liverpool. He died at the hospital as a result of his burns, which covered up to 60 per cent of his body, three days before Christmas.
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Yesterday's inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court was adjourned as officers continue to make inquiries to try to conclude whether Mr Keighley had made a deliberate attempt to take his own life.
In a statement made shortly after the incident, security guard Philip Brockbank told of how he was in a hut outside the police station at 7pm when he heard a bang and opened the door.
He said: "He was standing a few yards in front of me. He had a green petrol can in his left hand and was flicking a lighter over parts of his body with the other.
"I ran back inside to get the telephone to call the police. Before I got the chance I saw flames."
The inquest heard how Mr Keighley rolled over and over on the floor as Mr Brockbank, an employee of Capricorn Security in Salford, used two fire extinguishers to put out the flames before putting a blanket round him.
Firefighters, paramedics and police officers were called to the scene by a passer-by who was on her way to the Alhambra with a friend.
PC Richard Stott told the inquest that when he arrived Mr Keighley, of Birch Grove, Harrogate, was sitting up and was talking to firefighters.
Coroner Roger Whittaker adjourned the hearing on the request of his family to make further inquiries.
It is not yet known what Mr Keighley said to the fire crew.
Speaking after the hearing his sister, Gillian Keighley, 30, of Harrogate, said he had been suffering from long-term depression.
"He never got over our dad's death. He died when Richard was 12 of heart disease. We know he'd had a row with his girlfriend recently. He used to live in Bradford but we aren't sure why he was there."
She said her brother had been to the BRI on the same day of the incident complaining he felt low.
She said: "They left him in a cubicle and an hour later he'd gone. I feel angry."
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