Heartbroken family and friends have paid tribute to a young man found dead in Stockport.
Connor McDonald was found by passersby in an area of woodland off Barlow Fold Road in Reddish on October 9, 2020.
An inquest at South Manchester Coroners Court heard that paramedics rushed to the area after receiving a call from two people who spotted the 22-year-old. However, he had died before they arrived.
Connor, who lived in Reddish with his parents, was a 'bubbly' and extremely popular young man who had struggled after losing his job during the coronavirus pandemic, his mum Sharon Frain told the court.
He had been hired to work as a printer but was furloughed during the lockdown and then let go before he could return to work.
Connor enjoyed working and socialising with his colleagues so losing his job hit him hard, his mum said.
"He seemed happy enough but then he got furloughed and Covid added to everything else," she explained.
Sharon said her son had suffered occasional 'dark moments' at home but that he gave no indication of any plan to kill himself.
She had once booked an appointment for him to speak to a doctor about his mental health but he left before the appointment began.
Connor seemed hesitant to speak to a specialist but his parents could not make him go to any appointments because he was over 18, Sharon said.
"He just kept pushing it under the carpet," she told the inquest.
"If we were given more right to sort the appointments for him he probably would have gone but because it was left in his hands he didn't.
"For us in this position it feels wrong. As long as they live under your roof you should be able to do appointments. I feel like if we had been able to do more we could have helped."
The court that Connor had lost his job in the Summer of 2020 but did not initially tell his parents. They later found letters he had sent in an attempt to get hired to a new position.
"I think he wouldn't tell his mum and dad out of pride," Connor's friend Beth Chambers told the inquest.
"All he wanted to do was make his mum and dad proud. It was the most frustrating thing because we told him they were proud no matter what but all he wanted to do was try to make them proud."
On the morning of his death, Connor had returned home following a night out with some friends and was in 'good spirits', Sharon said. He left the house again around 6.30am and she thought he was visiting other friends.
She had planned to take him out for lunch later that day but Connor would never return home.
Describing the moment she was told her son had died, Sharon said: "Things were put on Facebook and I just knew it was him. I had this feeling. Then the police knocked on the door."
Police coroners officer Rachael Darby told the court Connor's body was found by paramedics at around 11.30am.
A toxicology report, read to the court by senior coroner Alison Mutch, showed that Connor had been drinking before his death and was still around 50 percent over the drink-drive limit when he died. Cocaine was also found in his system.
A post-mortem examination revealed no external injuries that would indicate the involvement of another person and gave a single cause of death of hanging.
Speaking about her son, Sharon said she 'would have done anything' to help if she had realised how serious his problems were.
"I would swap places with him any day," she said after the inquest.
"We love him a lot and we miss him very much. He was bubbly and a lovely sensitive young man. He loved football and he used to coach kids football, he really liked kids.
"He also really liked going out at night with his friends. The side we saw of Connor when he was at home meant we didn't realise how popular he was.
"We were overwhelmed with the love everybody had for him. That brought us some comfort to know he wasn't on his own."
"One of the things that came across very clearly in all of the evidence I have heard is what a lovely, loving and supportive family Connor had, he was a very loving many with his parents, friends and siblings," the coroner, said.
"There was nothing in his behaviour with you or any of his friends that would have set off alarm bells.
Ms Mutch said she had considered recording a verdict of suicide but was not satisfied that Connor's death fulfilled the criteria required.
She explained: "In order for a coroner to record a conclusion of suicide I have to be satisfied of two things. First, that he did the act that led to his death and secondly that when he did the act he intended the consequences would be his death.
"The evidence is clear there was nobody else involved in his death. I then turn to the second question which is much more difficult.
"Can I be satisfied that the consequence was intended to be his death? That's quite difficult because there was no note and nothing said that would make anybody suspect that."
The coroner decided that she could not conclude on the balance of probabilities that Connor had intended to take his own life, pointing to the fact he had made plans to meet a friend for drinks later that week, had shown no previous suicidal intentions and left no note to explain his actions.
She instead recorded a narrative conclusion: "He died from suspension from a ligature whilst under the influence of alcohol."
Following Connor's death, several fundraising pages were set up to help his parents and to support youth mental health charity PAPYRUS.
