Ben Riches inquest: brother recalls when he first noticed Ben's personality change

Ben, a 30-year-old Army veteran, who served both in Iraq 2008 and then in Afghanistan in 2010, was found hanging at his home address in Fleetwood in April 2019.

He had joined the army in 2005 aged 16, following in the steps of his brother. Ben was deployed to Iraq in 2007, aged 18, and during that tour faced several life-threatening actions and hostile engagements including being a victim of a roadside bomb, an incident which eventually led to hearing loss and his medical discharge in 2014.

Ben was later deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of Operation Herric 12, during which a number of his friends were killed and both tours appeared to have a lasting impact on Ben.

But Steven said in a statement to the inquest at Preston that he felt it was the shooting incident, which came after the roadside bomb, which prompted the change in his brother’s personality.

"To me that was when he changed,” said Stephen. “He was previously jovial but became more aggressive.”

After being deployed to Afghanistan, Ben was promoted to Lance Corporal but was demoted back to Private after an incident which saw him run naked through a farmer’s field while drunk.

"He was drinking more and not taking pride in his appearance,” said Stephen, who added that the trend continue after his discharge from the Army because of hearing loss.

"That led to a rapid deterioration in Ben’s behaviour. Serving in the military was Ben’s lifelong dream and the discharge hit him hard.

"He no longer pride in his appearance, which was so unusual for him.”

"I remember him joining me at a Remembrance event, which we had always respected, unkempt and smelling of stale alcohol. It was not the Ben I had grown up with.”

The year after his discharge from the Army, a fire at his home left Ben badly scarred – and Steven said that left a mark on his brother mentally as well as physically.

"The changes in him were blatant, including becoming more unreliable,” said Steven in his statement.

"He made several attempt to commit suicide and my sister and I were worried for him.

"He told me he had nightmares about Iraq and drinking was the only way he could sleep.”

Military and medical experts told the inquest that Ben was assessed on several occasions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) while still serving in the Army and afterwards, but while he showed symptoms, he didn’t met all the criteria for the condition.

Following the fire and the time Ben subsequently spent in the intensive care unit at Wythenshawe Hospital, Ben was seen and assessed on five occasions by burns service psychiatrist Julie Wiseley as a routine follow-up to such a trauma and, while he told her he had been having dreams dating back to his military days while in the ICU, he “didn’t feel any psychological follow-up would be his thing”.

"He told me he was sad about leaving the Army and expressed concerns over how he would cope in the future,” said Ms Whiteley.

"I referred him to his local health service in Preston but I don’t know whether this was followed up.”

In 2018 and early 2019, Ben was taken into custody by police, and to Blackpool Victoria Hospital on several occasions, after incidents which followed him having drink excessively, including walking in traffic and walking into the sea at Fleetwood, but, following consultations with mental heath professionals each time, it was never considered necessary to detain him.

In March 2019, a month before his death, police found him at the sea wall, under the influence of drink and threatening to walk into the water. After being taken to hospital, he was again released but referred to the mental health home treatment team, which followed up with a phone call from mental health nurse Helen Bailey.

"He denied any thoughts of self-harm of suicide but accepted his alcohol problems and said psychological intervention would be useful for his feeling after the fire,” said Ms Slater.

She referred his case to the Single Point Of Access mental health service but it appeared to have not been followed up.

Ben was found hanged by a dog lead on the stairs his home on April 11, 2019 after former Army colleague Michael Herbert spotted a message from him on social media and followed up with a phone call during which Ben told him: “I want to kill myself”.

The inquest, being conducted by senior coroner Dr James Adeley, is due to conclude on Thursday.Help for forces veterans is available at www.veteransgateway.org.uk