Overview

• North Staffordshire assistant coroner Lindsey Tonks delivered a short-form conclusion of suicide following the inquest.
• Stanier, 36, a garden centre worker from Trentham, died in September 2024 after being struck by a train in Stoke-on-Trent, with the cause recorded as multiple traumatic injuries.
• A note found in his backpack included an apology to the train driver, stating, “I hope the train driver can forgive me and is not too traumatised by this.”
• Evidence to the inquest detailed his diagnoses of OCD and anxiety, ongoing private counselling, and frequent GP contact without outward signs of suicidal intent.
• He had recently started medication that listed suicide as a possible side effect, and a three-week review was scheduled but had not occurred before his death.