A mountain rescue volunteer threw himself off one of the tallest viaducts in Britain after vanishing from a Christmas drinks party, an inquest heard.
Tom Doldon appeared happy and had spent the hours before his death fundraising with fellow volunteers as one of Santa’s helpers.
He met friends in the pub and was laughing and chatting, so they did not become suspicious when he did not show up at another bar.
Later in the evening other members of the Glossop Mountain Rescue Team were called to an emergency after reports someone had jumped from Dinting Viaduct.
Friends of Tom Doldon said the mountain rescue volunteer appeared happy in the hours before his death while he fundraised with fellow volunteers as one of Santa’s helpers
Later in the evening other members of the Glossop Mountain Rescue Team were called to an emergency after reports someone had jumped from Dinting Viaduct, only to discover it was their colleague, Mr Dolton
To their horror they realised the fatally injured man at the foot of the railway bridge was their 33 year-old colleague.
A train guard on a service that stopped after spotting a man on the viaduct told police he watched in disbelief as Mr Dolton had ‘flipped’ himself over the railings.
Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard the popular young man leapt from the bridge on the evening of December 16 last year. Earlier in the day he had taken part in the rescue team’s annual Santa collection.
Unemployed Mr Dolton of Glossop, Derbyshire, was described by colleagues as ‘caring and considerate’ and ‘someone who put others before himself’.
He was a keen volunteer who had been involved with the rescue team since September and joined with others to celebrate the success of their fundraising drive.
After spending time in one pub, some of the group went on to another bar in Glossop just after 9pm.
The rest finished their drinks and went to leave only to realise Tom had gone without his coat and keys. They tried calling him but had no joy.
A train guard on a service that stopped after spotting a man on the viaduct told police he watched in disbelief as Mr Dolton had ‘flipped’ himself over the railings
Mr Dolton had suffered multiple injuries in a 50ft fall from the parapet near to the Dinting station end of the viaduct
An hour-and-a-half later the rescue team received an emergency call saying police and paramedics had been alerted to reports of a jumper from the viaduct that stands near the town centre.
They arrived at the scene to discover the badly injured man was their fellow volunteer.
They helped stabilise him before he was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary where he was pronounced dead in the early hours of the next morning.
He had suffered multiple injuries in a 50ft fall from the parapet near to the Dinting station end of the viaduct.
Tests showed he was ‘severely intoxicated’. The alcohol level in his body was equivalent to being two to three times the drink drive limit, which would have impaired his reasoning.
Tom’s mountain rescue colleague Matt Dooley told police: ‘I saw Tom in the pub, he seemed in good spirits, he was happy and chatting
‘Later we got a request for assistance to search an area under the viaduct because a man had been spotted jumping from it. I called out the team and a few minutes later I was told Tom had been found at the bottom.’
In a statement, Tom’s father John, said his son had struggled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.
Tests showed Mr Doldon was ‘severely intoxicated’. The alcohol level in his body was equivalent to being two to three times the drink drive limit, which would have impaired his reasoning
Tom had disclosed his mental health problems to the mountain rescue team and it was decided they posed no barrier to him joining the volunteer emergency service which patrols large parts of the Peak District
He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered depression, along with a failed suicide attempt in 2013, and took medication to help him deal with his condition.
But he was ‘very outgoing’ and had a large group of friends. He enjoyed cycling, swimming and running as well as rock climbing.
They had met two days before the tragedy and Tom was ‘in good spirits’, but his dad said his son was ‘unpredictable’ when he had been drinking.
The driver of the Northern Rail 22.38 Service from Glossop to Manchester Piccadilly hit the emergency brakes after seeing a figure holding a bottle on the viaduct as he drove onto it. He contacted the guard.
Guard Ashok Patel said they had just pulled out of Dinting station when the train came to a halt.
He looked out of the window at the rear of the last carriage and saw a man two feet from the train, so he opened the door to let him on.
‘Suddenly he grabbed a railing and flipped himself over the edge and I lost sight of him. I would say it was deliberate,’ Mr Patel told police.
Tom had disclosed his mental health problems to the mountain rescue team and it was decided they posed no barrier to him joining the volunteer emergency service which patrols large parts of the Peak District.
After the tragedy long-serving team member Graeme Shaw, who was Tom’s mentor, said: ‘I was very impressed. He was a superb mountaineer as well as being a fantastic person’.
Mr Doldon was described as ‘a superb mountaineer as well as being a fantastic person’ by his mountain rescue colleagues
Mr Doldon was described as being ‘very outgoing’ and had a large group of friends. He enjoyed cycling, swimming and running as well as rock climbing
Graeme said he remembered Tom’s ‘beaming smile’ on the day he died as children waited to see Father Christmas.
‘He said that he was really happy,’ said Graeme. ‘We were devastated by his death.’
Derbyshire Assistant Coroner Kathryn Hayes said she had no doubt Tom jumping from the viaduct was a deliberate act, but no note was found at the scene or in his flat.
‘On the day leading up to this there’s no evidence to say he was unhappy, depressed or he had thoughts of taking his own life, ‘ she said.
Ruling out a conclusion of suicide she also said that because of the guard’s evidence she could not accept Tom’s death was accidental.
‘Unfortunately, as happens in so many of these cases I’m driven to record an open conclusion,’ said Ms Hayes.
‘I would like to offer my sympathies to his family and the train driver and guard that such an awful event happened, particularly so close to Christmas.
‘And my thoughts go to the mountain rescue service who turn out in very difficult conditions at all times to assist members of the public and the emergency services, particularly so, given that they found one of their own members, on this occasion.’
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