Asylum seeker found dead in Wakefield hotel grounds, inquest hears

The government announced it would expand the use of the Cedar Court Hotel in Wakefield in June

An inquest has been opened after a Georgian asylum seeker was found dead in the grounds of the Wakefield hotel he was living in.

The body of Irakli Kapanadze, 37, was found outside Cedar Court Hotel in Calder Grove on September 14.

Senior coroner Kevin McLoughlin told the hearing in Wakefield that hanging had been identified as a provisional cause of death.

The case was adjourned to an unspecified future date.

Mr Kapanadze, who legally entered the UK in July 2022, was confirmed dead by paramedics who attended the hotel.

A coroner's officer told the court that Mr Kapanadze spoke little English and had few friends.He had received hospital treatment on July 11 after self-harming.

Mr McLoughlin said: "The gentleman was housed by the authorities in that hotel and has then been found in the grounds of that hotel.

"Without a doubt this is an unnatural death, so it is self-evident I must open an inquest."

The coroner said Mr Kapanadze's family wished for his body to be repatriated so a funeral could take place, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In June, the Home Office informed Wakefield Council of its intention to double the number of asylum seeker spaces at Cedar Court.

The local authority was told that the number would increase from 148 to 306.

The move came days after it was announced that the St Pierre Hotel, in Newmillerdam, would be used to temporarily accommodate asylum seekers.