Mystery of man’s Burnley car park plunge death

Michael Howard, the brother of David John Howard, who died in a fall from the sixth floor of the Millennium car park in Curzon Street in September, said his brother had not been to Burnley for 30 years.

And it remains a mystery whether he had caught a bus from his home in Skipton by mistake or had decided to go for a bus ride and then had a panic attack.

Mr Howard (52), of Moor View Way, Skipton, died as a result of multiple injuries sustained in the fall on September 9th.

Mr Howard said his brother had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic in the 1980s and had been on anti-depressants for many years.

He had been concerned when monthly hospital appointments had been transferred from Skipton to Airedale Hospital but there was no suggestion he was contemplating suicide.

East Lancashire Coroner Mr Richard Taylor said Mr Howard was out of his comfort zone but he could not be 100% certain he intended to take his own life and returned a narrative conclusion.