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IMO, should have just got a Police Sniper and shot them down, everyones happy then!

IMO, should have just got a Police Sniper and shot them down, everyones happy then!

Agony led man to M5 bridge suicide

A man who brought traffic to a seven-hour standstill in North Somerset before plunging to his death from the Avonmouth Bridge was suffering from a horrendous skin condition which made him want to take his life.

Paul Cowling said nobody would help him and he could not live with the undiagnosed condition, which left his skin red raw.

He also told a police officer it left him unable to eat and the only things he could bear to put in his mouth were ice cubes.

The incident happened on Friday, August 28 last year when traffic was already heavy on the M5 for the beginning of the Bank Holiday weekend.

Thousands of motorists were caught up in the gridlock which caused tailbacks of 30 miles past Portishead and Clevedon to as far as Bridgwater. And some of those stuck on the M5 reported missing flights from Bristol Int Airport, appointments and even a wedding.

After almost seven hours with Mr Cowling's health rapidly failing, the emergency services agreed a plan to grab him when a cup of tea was passed to him. The first attempt failed but on the second attempt firefighter Derrick Hone, reaching through a hole in the fence managed to grab Mr Cowling's belt.

He said: "I managed to yank him back but he wriggled to the edge of the stanchion (that he was sitting on). He got over the edge and something just went. I thought it was the belt but I had dislocated my little finger. His T-shirt caught on the stanchion and then he went."

Mr Cowling plunged 100ft to the river below, where a lifeboat raced to his side, but he was already dead.

Earlier some motorists callously shouted "jump" as they passed Mr Cowling.

The 59-year-old, who was unemployed and lived with his brother David in Lawrence Weston, had suffered from the undiagnosed condition for several months. David Cowling said his brother used to sleep on an armchair because it was too painful for him to lie down.

He also said his brother was a gentle man who would go out of his way to help others, and that although he had suffered bouts of depression in recent years, he had never threatened to kill himself.

On the bridge Mr Cowling showed his chest to the people trying to save him.

Armed services counter terrorist officer Pier Huggett, first on the scene, said he saw angry, flaking skin which was "red raw" and the inflamed areas extended to his face and ears. He said: "He complained about his doctor, that he never gave him anything but aqueuos cream. Paul said, 'They don't do anything ^ that's what's led me to this'."

Nobody from Shirehampton Health Centre was called to the inquest.

PC Anthony Henley, was one of the first police officers on the scene, and said he was struggling to hear Mr Cowling over the noise of the wind and traffic. He contacted the control room asking for the northbound carriageway to be closed ^ a move that was criticised by motorists, who said more effort should have been made to keep at least one lane of the motorway open.

Coroner Terence Moore recorded a verdict that Mr Cowling took his own life at the inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner's Court on Tuesday.

He then praised the emergency service personnel and Mr Huggett for staying with him.

After the inquest David Cowling thanked all those who tried to save him. He said: "He was a thoughtful, helpful person and would be horrified to think he had caused a problem on the bridge."

I made that my comment with my "Controller Hat" on. Upon reflection it is a bit harsh and insensitive but I still make no apologies for it.

Very sad as this is I cannot see why it was not possible to keep at least a couple of lanes open.  The M5 is a very wide road and surely it would have been possible to keep some traffic moving on the opposite side from where he was standing.