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Bradley Carter, 29, also known as Bradley Tarbuck, struggled with mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. The “inspirational” and “greatly respected” rugby player was found dead in undergrowth beneath a viaduct in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, on August 6 last year.

Bradley’s inquest today heard he died as a result of suffering multiple injuries consistent with a fall from height.

Speaking at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court, Bradley’s heartbroken girlfriend Henrietta Darko said she had spoken to him moments before he ended his life.

He had told her: “I’ve had enough” and: “You’re going to find out tomorrow – that’s it.”

She described him as feeling “pretty low” the weeks before his death and he told her “I’m broken” but he also said he had no intentions of harming himself.

The coroner was told Bradley, who was a dad, had taken cocaine and drunk a large amount of alcohol prior to his death, reports Wales Online.

Henrietta, from Coventry, West Midlands, said she had known Bradley for six months on a dating app and had begun a relationship which saw them speaking daily via video calls and texts.

On August 5, Henrietta suggested her boyfriend should come to visit her in Coventry but after she sent him some money for fuel and to repair a flat tyre, Bradley told her one of his friends had taken his bank card.

At around 11.30am, the witness said she was called by her partner but he wouldn’t tell her where he was. She could tell he was outside and tried to reassure him but after speaking to her briefly, the line cut out.

Henrietta called the police who visited Bradley’s address but they were later contacted at 6.20am on August 6 by a member of the public and some time after 7am, they discovered his body in undergrowth near a riverbank underneath a viaduct. Paramedics were called but he was declared dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination was carried out which gave a cause of death as multiple injuries consistent with a fall from height. Toxicology analysis revealed Bradley’s body contained 0.18mg of cocaine per millilitre of blood and alcohol at a level which put him three times over the drink-drive limit.

In a statement read out to the court, the deceased’s aunt Nicole Gunter said the former Cyfartha High School pupil, who worked in construction, was a “keen and talented” rugby player in his youth, having played for Cefn Coed Rugby Club, and had been capped by Wales at under-16 level.

She said: “Bradley struggled with elements of his mental health since childhood and lost two close family members. His uncle died from a nasty fall in 2012 and he became very close to his grandfather who passed away in 2016.

“He began to struggle two years ago, had suicidal ideas, and had been in contact with community mental health services. His drug and alcohol use began to spiral. He was drinking heavily and using cocaine but he managed to keep down a full-time job.”

The court heard the father-of-one spent the day before his death at an address in Merthyr Tydfil, where he was taking drugs and drinking alcohol and had driven his van to the Station Hotel with friend Aja Powell but had left her in the van with the engine running and didn’t return. She later called another friend who drove the van back to the address.

Explaining her conclusion to the court, assistant coroner Rachel Knight said she was satisfied Bradley’s actions were deliberate and self-initiated. She recorded a conclusion of suicide.

For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.

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