A lorry driver fell to his death from a motorway bridge the same day he was denied an immediate appointment with a doctor when he'd asked for help.

An inquest heard 50-year-old Norrie Hyde was hit by a van after stopping his car on the M2 in Rochester on July 9, before he climbed over the railings at the side of the carriageway.

Police arrived shortly before 3.45pm and tried to talk to the father, who owned a chalet in Sheerness, and trained negotiators were also sent.

He fell at about 5.10pm.

The inquest heard that, just nine days earlier, Mr Hyde had been reported for criminal damage after moving a CCTV camera at the CYC Coastal Club in Marine Parade, where his chalet was based. He went to Sittingbourne police station and said he was being investigated but did not tell officers why.

Staff there were concerned he was acting strangely and phoned a mental health service.

As he did not meet the threshold for being sectioned, he was given advice and referred to a mental health team.

The morning of the day he died, a friend took him to see a doctor, but as he could not be seen straight away an appointment was made for later in the morning. In the meantime he was directed to A&E.

Mr Hyde drove towards Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital but never made it. Cameras later caught his car on the Dartford Crossing.

Giving evidence at Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone on Monday, his wife, Adele Hyde, said: “If you knew Norrie it was so clear his behaviour was out of character.

“Nothing ever got him down, we’re just so shocked.

“He tried to get help and that’s what’s breaking my heart – he was turned away.”

'He tried to get help and that’s what’s breaking my heart' - Adele Hyde

A post-mortem found Mr Hyde had been drinking before he fell from the bridge.

Assistant coroner Eileen Sproson concluded the death was a suicide.

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