Man, 65, reported missing from Leicester died after being found in sea at Blackpool close to North Pier
Man with history of mental health was seen on CCTV walking towards the beach in early hours
A missing 65-year-old man died after being found unresponsive in the sea at Blackpool.
Graham Farmer, from Leicester, had booked into an hotel in the resort and was seen on CCTV walking towards the beach shortly before 3am on February 1 this year, an inquest at Blackpool heard.
Police accessed the footage from various locations after being alerted to Mr Farmer being found close to the shoreline by a passer-by just south of North Pier.
At first, the passer-by, making his way to work around 7am, wondered what the shape was that he could see but after realising it was a man, he alerted the emergency services.
Attempts to resuscitate Mr Farmer at the scene were unsuccessful and after being taken by ambulance to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, he was declared dead.
A post mortem by pathologist Dr Darek Golka found cause of death was a heart attack, with contributing factors hypothermia from being in the sea and some abnormalities with his heart.
The inquest at Blackpool Town Hall heard that Mr Farmer had been diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia, for which he had been under treatment for more than 40 years.
A statement from Leicester area mental health services read at the inquest said his condition had been successfully controlled by medication for many years but in spring last year, he declined to take it.
He was warned his refusal could bring about a relapse but the authorities were content that he was capable of making his own decision.
He had made a mention of possible self harm last April but no incident followed and there had been no such mentions again.
Last November, he went missing from Leicester and was found in Blackpool, from where he returned shortly after, but he was then reported missing again at the end of January.
Blackpool and Fylde senior coroner Alan Wilson said no note had been left and there was no other indication that Mr Farmer intended to harm himself.
The CCTV footage showed him walking towards the beach in the early hours but it was not possible to know how he came to be in the sea, also ruling out an accidental death conclusion.
Mr Wilson returned a short narrative conclusion based on the circumstances of his death.