Gambling dependancy ‘destroyed’ son, father tells Sheffield inquest

The father of a younger instructor who killed himself after suffering from years of gambling difficulties has explained to an inquest that the habit “destroyed” his son.

Jack Ritchie died in Hanoi, Vietnam, aged 24. His mother and father, Charles and Liz Ritchie, from Sheffield, believe that failures of United kingdom authorities to handle gambling issues contributed to their son’s loss of life.

Ritchie’s mother and father imagine the listening to is the initially Article 2 inquest – an improved inquiry that probes the job of the state – in a scenario relating to suicide adhering to gambling. This indicates its scope will contain an evaluation of whether or not any component of the state breached its duty to protect his appropriate to lifestyle.

The few believe an undiagnosed gambling ailment lay at the rear of their son’s loss of life and have argued there were being no community wellness warnings about the threat to lifetime posed by gambling merchandise. They say their son was not identified or offered treatment method that joined his signs and symptoms to a gambling disorder.

The inquest heard on Friday that Ritchie’s parents “regard gambling as the root lead to and result in of Jack’s death”.

Charles Ritchie instructed the hearing in Sheffield: “It took this pleased, healthful 16-year-old and little by little, in excess of the system of seven years, it ruined a section of him.

“The incredibly essence of that incredible youthful gentleman was torn apart, was destroyed by gambling so that he could see himself as getting the villain, as staying the bad human being, as staying the weak person, as becoming the irresponsible human being, and he took that on since he was a great guy.”

Ritchie was operating as an English instructor in Vietnam when he killed himself in November 2017.

Previously this week, the Sheffield coroner David Urpeth read that the trainer commenced playing on mounted-odds betting terminals when he was about 16 or 17 a long time outdated.

His father said that just before he still left for Vietnam, he “was very positive” and “starting to obtain his way into grownup life”.

He instructed the inquest: “He most likely thought he experienced escaped gambling, was totally free of it and heading to guide the awesome everyday living that was forward of him.”

Charles Ritchie stated the addiction “killed him” about the “final 4 times of his life”. He mentioned his son had “crashed out” after coming to the finish of his overdraft.

Jack’s mother stated their son “blamed himself for harming us”.

She advised the inquest: “He experienced been explained to by the lack of details that gambling is regular, that it’s only a very small proportion of men and women who are addicted and there is one thing erroneous with them, that it was all his fault for not only performing the gambling but harming us since of it.”

The inquest proceeds.