Blackpool teen took his own life by jumping off suspension bridge tied to another man

The bodies of Blackpool teenager Nathan Jordan Orritt and Richard Adam Hollis, 37, were discoverd by a dog walker on Llanddwyn beach on Anglesey on February 9 – four days after they are thought to have jumped into the Menai Strait

Nathan, 18, was a former pupil at Highfield Academy, Blackpool.

Dewi Pritchard Jones, senior coroner for north west Wales, was told that the two men had tied themselves together quite deliberately, The hearing heard how the fate of the two men began to unfold on February 7, when the lower right leg and foot of a man were discovered on the beach at Y Felinheli, near Bangor.

The foot, still wearing a size ten trainer and sock, was later found to be from the body of Richard Hollis.

Detective Cons Mark Corkish of North Wales Police told the coroner that a mobile phone found on Mr Orritt’s body, along with a Conwy county council library card, had helped officers establish details of the two men’s movements in the days before they died.

On February 2 they had visited Conwy town library where they accessed the internet and searched for job vacanciies and places to live.

On Sunday February 4 the two men had camped for the night at the Tan y Bryn campsite at Bryn Pydew, above Llandudno Junction.

CCTV recorded the two men in Llandudno Junction the following morning visiting a Co-Op store and post office.

From around 1pm that day, February 5th, phone mast records showed the pair gradually moving further westward, going as far as Caergeiliog near Holyhead.

The last recorded phone mast record came at 23.51 that day in the Menai Bridge area.

Det Cons Corkish also told the hearing that a 999 call was made from Mr Orritt’s phone at around that time but nobody said anything during the 52 seconds of the call and the operator eventually hung up.

CCTV on roads approaching the Menai Suspension Bridge did not record the men entering the bridge.

But pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers told the inquest that both men had suffered injuries consistent with a fall from a great height.

Both men had ruptured spleens and it was likely that Mr Hollis’ leg became amputated as a result of the fall. Dr Rodgers said the way the leg had been severed did not indicate it had been severed by a propeller.

He added that the two men were bound in such a way that anyone passing them would not have realised they were tied together.

“A fall from that height could have rendered them both unconscious.

“They would have drowned very quickly.” said the pathologist who confirmed that the cause of death for both men was drowning.

In a hearing lasting 45 minutes, no evidence was heard about how the men knew each other or why they might have wanted to take their own lives.

Coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said: “it could only be with the intention of taking their own life” that the pair had deliberately climbed over barriers and jumped fromt the suspension bridge.”

He recorded a conclusion of suicide in both cases.

Following Nathan’s death, his father Ian Orritt, 41, paid an emotional tribute to his son, who he says will be missed greatly by his friends and family.

He said: “We’re going to miss him so much. I’m remembering the day he was born, his first day at school.

“I just wish we’d had more time. We’re all struggling. It has been so unexpected.

“My son was a fun person and a really likable lad who enjoyed doing all the normal stuff teenagers like doing.”