Bradley John inquest: 'Seek truth about my son's death', coroner urged

Bradley John, 14, died after being found at St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive in September 2018

The father of a teenage boy has revealed his "loss and deep regret" after his son died amid allegations of bullying.

Bradley John, 14, died after being found in a toilet block at a Carmarthenshire school in 2018.

His father, Byron John, made a plea to the coroner at Bradley's inquest to seek the truth about his son's death.

He told the court he had come simply "hoping to get some answers and to make sense of what happened" to his son.

"I sat here, uneducated in any legal way, as a father, to speak the truth, and to seek the truth, and to listen to the facts," said Mr John.

Previously during the four-day inquest he thanked the teacher who had tried to save his son's life, after Bradley was found hanged at St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School in Llanelli.

Bradley John attended St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School after leaving Amman Valley Comprehensive

Mr John said he felt reassured by some of the evidence given by the school, although he maintains that his son had been bullied.

The school's deputy head Graziella Fiorillo, also the school's safeguarding lead at the time of Bradley's death, told the inquest she felt satisfied the correct policy had always been adhered to in any incidents involving Bradley.

However, the court heard there was one exception where Ms Fiorillo was not made aware a serious allegation had been made against two other pupils.

She and another member of staff - the former head of Year 9 Cath Jones - described having a "good" relationship with Mr John during Bradley's time at the school.

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They referred to several incidents involving Bradley which had resulted in them having to call Mr John, or to have meetings with him, and said they always found him quick to respond and willing to help.

One recollection by Ms Jones was that, when she called him, he would say "What's Bradley done now?".

A memorial bench was unveiled at the David Broome Event Centre in Caldicot, where Bradley trained in show jumping

Mrs Jones also told the inquest about measures which the school had undertaken to help Bradley, such as giving him his own seat next to the driver on the school bus, or sometimes escorting him to class.

Written statements were read out to the inquest by pupils from the school, who described Bradley as being "fine" in his last class that day, and "turning round to show us his drawings which he was really proud of".

The pupils, who can not be named, said in their statements that they were not aware he was being bullied, but that they did know him well.

Bradley's father Byron John maintains that his son was bullied

However the statement of a close friend, who the inquest heard had known Bradley from a young age, spoke of bullying, saying that it had got worse as they had got older, and stating that Bradley had given up reporting it because the school did not try to stop it.

In their final submissions, barristers Andrew Faux and Edward Ramsay, representing the teachers and the local authority, told the coroner that, despite the incidents that had involved Bradley at the school, they did not believe the inquest had found any real evidence of bullying, and that there was no evidence that bullying had played a part in Bradley's death.

Mr Faux pointed out that there were many other significant strands to the evidence, including Bradley's difficult relationship with his mother, his periods of depression, and his ADHD, which had to be managed through medication.

Mr Ramsay said that bullying as a cause of death was "speculation", just as Bradley's medication, and the situation at home could also have been possible factors in his death.

Byron John was praised by the coroner for the "restrained and dignified" way that he had handled himself during the inquest, and the inquest was adjourned until 29 June.