Dafydd Bury, 25, (pictured) had discussed plans to propose to his girlfriend
An international hockey player and assistant housemaster at a £32,000-a-year boarding school hanged himself after discussing plans to propose to his girlfriend, an inquest heard.
Dafydd Bury, 25, was due to fully qualify as a religion and philosophy teacher at the former school of music mogul Simon Cowell and comedian Tracey Ullman.
But he was found dead in his onsite flat in Ascot, Berkshire, after he celebrated winning a round of golfing by drinking Strongbow and rum and coke.
The keen Welsh athlete, who won a bronze medal at the 2009 European Hockey Championship for his country, had just discussed plans to ask his girlfriend to marry him in Bali.
He was due to go on a golfing holiday to Portugal in the summer with his cancer-stricken father, who was too ill to attend the inquest in Reading, Berkshire.
His partner, who was studying to become a midwife at the time of his death on May 2 but has since qualified, told a coroner today that although he had overdosed once before, she did not believe he meant to kill himself.
Sophie Phillips told the inquest that she had stayed with Dafydd at Licensed Victuallers’ School (LVS) in Ascot the weekend before his death.
The pair had enjoyed a happy time together but he had dropped her off at the train station about 2pm on Monday, May 1.
She told the inquest: ‘He was in a really, really good place. He was really happy because he was about to play a round of golf. He was his happy, normal self.’
Miss Phillips, of Dartmouth, Devon, read out a list of activities her partner had undertaken the previous weekend which included setting up a direct debit to a charity, planning to go on a stag weekend and entering the London Marathon.
The keen Welsh athlete (pictured) won a bronze medal at the 2009 European Hockey Championship
Dafydd (pictured) was found dead in his onsite flat in Ascot, Berkshire, after he celebrated winning a round of golfing by drinking Strongbow and rum and coke
He also went clothes shopping, made breakfast for the next three days and had written a speech for the end-of-year leavers event at school.
She rang him at 10.50pm that evening after he had spent the evening with his friend, Willem Truter, and had helped put the boys in his house to bed.
Miss Phillips added: ‘I could tell instantly he was drunk on the phone. I knew him too well, just the way he spoke and would deliver his words.
‘He didn’t talk about how he was feeling he just said ‘goodbye’. ‘I’m ringing to say goodbye’, and that was all he kept saying.’
Miss Phillips, who had been in the relationship for 15 months at the time, explained that he stopped talking mid-conversation.
After speaking to Mr Truter it became clear that her boyfriend, whose mother died when he aged just 14, appeared to have enjoyed a happy evening with his friend.
He was due to go on a golfing holiday to Portugal in the summer with his cancer-stricken father
She said: ‘Mr Truter said he had been in a really good mood all evening. They had been talking about future plans, about marriage, about me finishing my course and moving back to Devon, about going on holiday and just about general plans.’
Mr Truter said his friend had beaten him at golf and added: ‘He had spoken about his relationship and explained plans to get engaged.
The inquest heard that Mr Bury he had overdosed on paracetamol and anodyne in December 2014 but had called a friend and was treated in hospital.
Although he had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, prescribed citalopram and had undergone a series of telephone counselling sessions, mental health professionals told the inquest that he was deemed a low risk of suicide.
A toxicology report carried out by Dr Rebecca Andrews revealed Mr Bury was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit at the time of his death with 188mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system.
Assistant coroner for Berkshire, Alison McCormick, recorded an open conclusion and agreed with the medical cause of death, as given by pathologist Dr Mabel Thyveetil as one of asphyxia due to hanging.
She said: ‘To reach a conclusion of suicide I have to be satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that Dafydd did intend to take his own life but from the evidence that I have heard I have some doubts about what he intended to do.
‘Bearing all the facts in mind I find I cannot be satisfied that beyond all reasonable doubt Dafydd intended to take his own life so I am going to record an open conclusion.
‘It’s very clear to me from all the evidence that I have read that Dafydd was a very special person to his family, his friend and all those people that he loved.’