INQUESTS have opened today into the deaths of two men who died in York.

Steven Michael Lamb, 32, of Copmanthorpe, is provisionally thought to have died of head injuries consistent with being hit by a train, York Coroner’s Court was told today.

The court heard Mr Lamb had suffered depression before he went missing.
Coroner Donald Coverdale said he visited his GP on January 14 when he presented as depressed with suicidal thoughts. On January 16 he was reported missing.

“At 8.28am on January 17, British Transport Police were notified a body was lying on tracks at Earfit Lane in Copmanthorpe,” said Mr Coverdale.

Mr Lamb worked as a signals and telecommunications technician. His wife Hannah helped with his identification.

The inquest was adjourned pending further enquries and for funeral arrangements to be made.

An inquest also opened today into the death of Christopher John Baker, 29, whose body was found in the River Ouse on Saturday.

Mr Baker, of Albemarle Road, had been missing since December 20 when he was seen to get out of his car at the traffic lights on Skeldergate Bridge and to jump over the walls into Tower Gardens.

A number of personal effects were found which confirmed the body was that of Mr Baker, a trainee accountant, Mr Coverdale said.

A postmortem examination by Dr Isabelle Hanson, pathologist at York Hospital, gave the provsional cause of death as submersion in water.

Anyone experiencing feelings of depression and contemplating suicide can phone York Samaritans on 01904 655888.