The mum of a man who fell to his death from a ferry says he was "let down" by the authorities and by an Irish police officer. Margaret Burnell said she did everything possible to get help for her son Peter Foden, who had mental health problems, but was "not listened to" by authorities after reporting her son missing from his flat in Fairfield Avenue, Rhyl. Speaking on her behalf at an inquest in Ruthin, Mrs Burnell's close friend Jenny Taylor said: “She did her absolute best to get him the support he needed.
She was on the phone every day but wasn’t listened to.” The inquest heard that on January 9 this year, Peter, 44, was found by PC Jonathan Black in Belfast. He had a suitcase and just £1 on his person.
He reportedly told the officer he did not intend to self-harm. PC Black said: “I didn’t feel there was any risk. He was happy to return home to his family.
” After learning he was in Belfast, Mrs Burnell bought Peter a ticket to on a Stena ferry. On January 20, she went to meet him off the ferry and raised the alarm when he did not disembark. His case and shoes were found on the ship and CCTV footage showed him standing outside the railings on Deck 7, 18 metres above the water line.
Emergency services including , HM Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution were called and a search operation was launched. Peter was airlifted out of the water off the Liverpool Bar and taken to University Hospital but died later that morning. The cause of death was gi.
