{"id":18588,"date":"2026-04-21T10:50:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/18588\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T10:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:50:18","slug":"as-soon-as-i-heard-my-son-was-going-to-forest-bank-i-knew-it-would-be-the-end-of-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/18588\/","title":{"rendered":"‘As soon as I heard my son was going to Forest Bank, I knew it would be the end of his life’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mother of a 22-year-old who died in prison<\/a> said he was failed by ‘all of the authorities in charge of his care’ as she paid tribute to her ‘extremely precious’ child.<\/p>\n

Jake Anthony O’Brien, 22, died at Salford<\/a> Royal Hospital on November 12, 2024 after being found hanging in his cell at Forest Bank prison, an inquest heard.<\/p>\n

Sarah O’Brien said she ‘knew he was going to die’ as soon as he was transferred to Forest Bank as she gave evidence at his inquest on Monday (April 20).<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to hear the latest from Manchester’s courts in our newsletter<\/p>\n

Jake, from Altrincham<\/a>, was on remand at Forest Bank, a Category B men’s private prison in Pendlebury, Salford, after being charged with car crime offences.<\/p>\n

He was taken to Salford Royal from the prison on November 9 and sadly passed away on November 12.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jake died in November 2024 (Image: UGC\/FAMILY\/MEN)<\/p>\n

The inquest heard how Jake was moved to Forest Bank from HMP Liverpool three weeks before his death. It also heard how there were no suspicious circumstances and that his injuries were consistent with death by hanging.<\/p>\n

‘Nobody listened and he ended up dead’<\/p>\n

Giving evidence at the inquest, Ms O’Brien said that her first-born son was ‘extremely precious’ and ‘very, very deeply loved’.<\/p>\n

She said that while Jake was in HMP Liverpool she became increasingly concerned about his mental health and had repeatedly contacted both prisons, mental health services and her local MP, along with other authorities, o express her concerns for his wellbeing.<\/p>\n

Jake, who was experiencing psychosis and had a history of self-harm, ‘acted younger than his age’ and was ‘cognitively slower’, the inquest heard.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old also had a history of schizophrenia in his family and had taken ketamine around the time of his psychosis, the inquest heard.<\/p>\n

Jake’s mother told the hearing he had contracted encephalitis when he was a baby and was informed by doctors that ‘if he lived he was going to be severely brain damaged’. He was also in a serious car accident in 2020 which may have resulted in brain damage, the inquest heard.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jake was ‘deeply, deeply loved'(Image: UGC\/FAMILY\/MEN)<\/p>\n

Ms O’Brien added that when she heard that Jake was moving to Forest Bank from HMP Liverpool she knew it was ‘the start of the end of his life’. She said: “I can’t even tell you the feeling that I had. Nobody listened and he ended up dead.”<\/p>\n

While in prison, Jake, who had ADHD and had a ‘strong probability’ of having autism, was experiencing psychosis and having delusions, the inquest heard.<\/p>\n

Ms O’Brien told the hearing about how she would speak to Jake over the phone and try and reassure him, as well as emailing councillors, hospitals and other professionals to try and get him help.<\/p>\n

She added that she was hoping he would be transferred to Edenfield, a medium secure service that provides care and treatment for people with enduring mental health needs.<\/p>\n

The inquest also heard how Jake had undergone an assessment by a consultant psychiatrist to see if he should be transferred to a mental health facility shortly before his transfer to Forest Bank. However, it was deemed in his best interest to re-assess and monitor his behaviour over the following weeks.<\/p>\n

It was also noted that Jake’s psychosis symptoms seemed to be improving at the time of his assessment and that he seemed to benefit from the structured environment he received at HMP Liverpool.<\/p>\n

The inquest into Jake’s death, which opened on Monday at Bolton<\/a> Coroners Court, is due to run for 14 working days.<\/p>\n

The jury were informed that they will hear from 50 witnesses over the course of the hearing, with the coroner informing them they will have to piece together a ‘jigsaw puzzle’ of evidence surrounding Jake’s death.<\/p>\n

Helplines and websites<\/p>\n

Samaritans (116 123) samaritans.org operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you\u2019re feeling, or if you\u2019re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org<\/a> , write to Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA and visit www.samaritans.org\/branches to find your nearest branch.<\/p>\n

For support for people feeling suicidal, if you are concerned about someone or if you are bereaved by suicide see http:\/\/shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

CALM (0800 58 58 58) thecalmzone.net has a helpline is for men who are down or have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support. They’re open 5pm to midnight, 365 days a year.<\/p>\n

Greater Manchester Bereavement Service Greater Manchester Bereavement Service can help to find support for anyone in Greater Manchester that has been bereaved or affected by a death. No one needs to feel alone as they deal with their grief. www.greater-manchester-bereavement-service.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Childline (0800 1111 ) runs a helpline for children and young people in the UK. Calls are free and the number won\u2019t show up on your phone bill.<\/p>\n

PAPYRUS (0800 068 41 41) is a voluntary organisation supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal.<\/p>\n

Beat Eating Disorders: Beat provides helplines for adults and young people offering support and information about eating disorders. These helplines are free to call from all phones. Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677, Studentline: 0808 801 0811, Youthline: 0808 801 0711. www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Anorexia & Bulimia Care: ABC provide on-going care, emotional support and practical guidance for anyone affected by eating disorders, those struggling personally and parents, families and friends. Helpline: 03000 11 12 13. www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts. Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying studentsagainstdepression.org<\/a><\/p>\n

For information and links to charities and organisations that can help with substance abuse, visit https:\/\/www.supportline.org.uk\/problems\/drugs\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The mother of a 22-year-old who died in prison said he was failed by ‘all of the authorities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[141,63,1717,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-18588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-courts","9":"tag-salford","10":"tag-trafford","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116442315162355154","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}