Father of two died after driving off Scarborough cliff, inquest finds

Mr Bryan died after he drove his car off the Filey Brigg cliffs on 18 October 2022

A father of two died after he deliberately drove off a cliff in North Yorkshire, an inquest has found.

James Adam Bryan, 28, was found with traumatic injuries near a holiday park in Filey Brigg on 18 October 2022, a coroner's inquest heard on Tuesday.

The inquest at Northallerton Coroner's Court heard Mr Bryan had previously suffered from recurring depression.

Mr Bryan's mother had earlier told the court that her son "would do anything for anyone".

In a statement read out in court, she added that Mr Bryan, who was born in Beverley, East Yorkshire, but had been living in Scarborough at the time of his death, was "an extremely sociable person".

He "helped people and would have dropped everything to help his friends - especially if they had a problem with their cars", she said.

During the inquest, the court heard that Mr Bryan's mother had last spoken to him on WhatsApp on the day before he died and he had "seemed positive".

But he had also last spoken to his former partner, with whom he had had two children, and had texted her "goodbye" shortly before he died.

'Loud bang'

A witness who had been walking to the Blue Dolphin caravan park with her partner told the inquest she saw Mr Bryan's car go off the cliff and "heard a loud bang".

"I thought that because there had not been an explosion it might have just rolled off," she added.

She said she had earlier noticed the vehicle with only the driver inside and had thought it was "strange to see the car in a field".

Nicola King, Mr Bryan's GP, said he had been struggling with his mental health in the months leading up to his death, and that had resulted in him not being able to work.

In a statement heard by the court, Ms King added that he had had thoughts of suicide in the July of 2022, but he had said he would not act on it.

However, she told the inquest that a month later things were going better for Mr Bryan and that there had been no more suicidal thoughts.

At the conclusion of the inquest, Coroner Jon Heath recorded that Mr Bryan had taken his own life.

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