A teenager died after jumping in front of a high-speed freight train at Winchester Railway Station, an inquest heard.

Edwin Pearse, known as Eddie, died instantly in the collision on February 7 this year.

Senior Central Hampshire Coroner Grahame Short concluded at Wednesday's hearing (November 5) that the 18-year-old’s recent resignation from a job at Age Concern Hampshire was a “contributory factor” in the youngster’s thought processes.

Statements by the Freightliner Group Ltd drivers, which were read to the inquest, told how they applied the emergency brake as soon as they spotted Eddie on the station platform that Friday afternoon, but he was impossible to avoid due to their speed.

A post mortem examination concluded that the 18-year-old died of multiple injuries.

The court heard how Eddie, of Western Road, Fulflood, Winchester, suffered from compulsive behaviour, violent fantasies and suicidal thoughts, telling one therapist: “I just don't think living is for me.”

He was unsettled by his parents’ separation and had a history of violence towards his mother.

Caroline Ferguson described her son was a “desperately ill young person”, adding that two of his uncles had died young by taking their own lives.

“In the 16 months before he died he had contact with a mental health professional for less than 10 hours,” she said.

Mrs Ferguson challenged psychiatrist Dr Ravi Thyagarajan about the standard of mental health care Eddie had received, saying: “He threatened to kill me. He threatened to kill students at Peter Symonds College.

“I ran to the bedroom and barricaded myself in my bedroom and rang you. I begged you for help and you said you couldn't help me.”

Eddie started a year-long business apprenticeship with Age Concern's offices in St Cross Road in December 2013.

But the Winchester hearing was told how he resigned from the post after just a month after concerns were raised about his performance.

He tried several days later to retract this resignation, launching a grievance procedure about his treatment by the charity just before his death.

Father Jeremy Pearse said his son had been “bamboozled” into resigning, adding: “He was pressurised into writing that letter.”

Age Concern Hampshire CEO Richard Smith said the amount of support Eddie had required had been very high.

“We discussed whether we wanted him to come back and clearly we didn't,” he said.

“He was in the wrong job, doing the wrong work. This is a very busy office we were working in. Maybe if we were a rich organisation with very deep pockets, we could have got a one-to-one assessor to work alongside him. But as a charity for older people, we didn't have the resources.”

The office's human resources director Sue Sutton, who dealt closely with the case, has since left the organisation without another job to go to.

At his final psychiatric assessment at the end of January 2014, Eddie asked senior nurse Gemma Stubbington for an increase in his anti-depressant dose because he felt low and was hearing voices encouraging him to kill himself.

She was unable to authorise this herself, but filed the required referral paperwork the next day.

Recording a verdict that Eddie intended to take his own life, senior central Hampshire coroner Grahame Short said his departure from Age Concern played a part in his suicide.

“I do believe it (his resignation) was a blow to him and I do believe it did set him back.

“I do think that it had the effect that he was no longer in a supporting structure, he had plenty of time on his hands, time to dwell and think about his future.

“Although the loss of his job didn’t directly lead to his death, I do believe it was a contributory factor in his thought processes.”