A former police officer took his own life after two colleagues were murdered by one-eyed gangster Dale Cregan, an inquest has heard.
Andrew Summerscales, 46, had “loved” being a police officer until fellow officers on his shift, his “very good friends” Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32, who grew up in Moray, were both murdered, Stockport Coroner’s Court was told.
Cregan, who was already wanted by police for the double murder of a father and son, lured the officers with a bogus call before killing them in a gun and grenade attack in Hattersley, Tameside, in September 2012.
Mr Summerscales’ life “changed that day”, his son Joshua, 21, told the inquest, and he sank into depression and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.
He went back to work after receiving treatment for depression but eventually left the police in November 2015 after 15 years’ service.
The ex-officer, originally from Oldham, was a life-long Liverpool FC fan and had been in Leppings Lane on the day of the Hillsborough disaster, later attending memorial events at Anfield, and it was something he had talked about to friends and family in the past, the inquest heard.
Suffering a “relapse” in his mental health, in the early hours of August 30 last year he sent emails and text messages to friends and colleagues telling them he intended to take his own life, the court was told.
He also filled out his own death report on official police paperwork, found in his pocket, and a body identity tag before hanging himself in Cheetham Park, Stalybridge, the inquest heard. There were no drugs or alcohol in his body.
Mr Summerscales had found a member of the public who had committed suicide at the same spot while walking in the park when off duty in April 2015.