MENTAL health workers missed opportunities to increase support for a man who jumped to his death from Thornton viaduct, an inquest has heard.

Christopher Exley's family said they had been let down and betrayed by Bradford District Care Trust which should have been caring for the 33-year-old who had given up on its services.

Mr Exley's body was discovered by police below the viaduct on December 15 last year after he went missing from home in Leaside Drive, Thornton, in his pyjamas.

Bradford Coroner Martin Fleming yesterday recorded a narrative verdict that Mr Exley took his own life while under the Trust's care and there had been missed opportunities to increase his support.

The depressed civilian police worker, who had body dysmorphia disorder and severe eczema, died from chest injuries and had higher than therapeutic levels of his anti-depressants in his system.

His mother Sue Exley and other family members had pleaded for more help and intervention from mental health teams without success, the hearing was told.

Despite numerous attempts to take his own life, including two attempts the day before his death and numerous assessments by mental health professionals, the Trust never deemed Mr Exley appropriate for sectioning under the Mental Health Act because there was no evidence of psychosis.

Mr Exley had a history of going to Thornton viaduct but was not pressed what he did there or what his intentions were by his community psychiatric nurse Sam Boheene.

The inquest heard how Mr Boheene had assumed the viaduct was a cricket pitch because of Mr Exley's passion for the sport.

"You just put two and two together and assumed it was a sports venue," said Coroner Martin Fleming, addressing him.

Mr Boheene also said he knew Mr Exley had considered going to Dignitas in Switzerland to end his life but after finding out his medical records would not help him had decided not to follow that course of action.

"He felt the option was not available so it closed that chapter," he said.

A month-long gap of Mr Exley seeing his care co-ordinator Elvis Jeremiah face-to-face, was also identified by Mr Fleming as a missed opportunity.

Mr Exley's family had phoned off-duty Mr Jeremiah for help on December 14 who advised them to ring the police.

The Trust said Mr Jeremiah should not have had his phone switched on and there were other options open to the family, including taking him either to A&E or to Lynfield Mount psychiatric hospital.

Changes have now been put in place by the Trust including the introduction of a fast response round-the-clock service for all mental health cases and off-duty staff being told to switch their phones off.

Speaking after the inquest, Mr Exley's brother Mark, who had written to then deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg about the family's plight, said: "We were let down and betrayed. We have no confidence in the NHS at all."