A 40-YEAR-OLD man, who suffered from schizophrenia, died when he stepped into the path of a moving train perhaps to escape the delusional voices he heard, an inquest heard today.

Philip Blackburn, of Canal Road, Riddlesden, Keighley, had threatened to jump off a viaduct earlier in the day, but had been prevented from doing so by his mother Gabrielle.

While she was calling his mental health social worker, unbeknown to his family, he left his flat and died about an hour later when he was struck by a train travelling at 60mph.

The incident happened at about 3.15pm on October 23 just outside Crossflatts station, Bingley.

After hearing from his mental health team, British Transport Police and a statement from the train driver, Assistant Bradford Coroner Oliver Longstaff said: "Philip Blackburn suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for many years, hearing voices that threatened him with harm and death.

"On October 23 he stepped into the path on an oncoming train and was killed instantly.

"Philip Blackburn took his own life in response to the impulses of delusional voices."

The former computer service engineer had suffered from mental health problems for a number of years, and lost his job after phone calls he made from work to the US radar base at Menwith Hill, near Harrogate, were traced back to him, the hearing in Bradford was told.

An investigation by Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust into its response to the phone call made by Mrs Blackburn on the day of her son's death concluded that "perhaps there should have been a more escalated response" but it was unlikely to have made any difference in time, the inquest heard.