A desperate bid was made by three men to talk down a boy from a railway bridge as they tried to save him from danger.

Ellis Murphy-Richards, 15, died after the fall at West Minster, Sheppey. He was just a month away from his 16th birthday.

Mark Dawson, a Queenborough resident of over 20 years, was cycling home after work when he spotted Ellis, an inquest in Maidstone heard.

Mr Dawson said he and three other passers-by tried to speak with him and persuade him to come back to safety.

Another man Nathan Dalton said: "Come on, we can sort this out."

DI Andrew Edwards of British Transport Police said he was satisfied there was no third party involvement in his death which occurred on September 30.

Five witnesses on the footbridge said Ellis acted of his own accord.

Ellis, a former pupil at Highsted Grammar in Sittingbourne and then at the Oasis Academy on Sheppey, decided around 18 months ago to identify as a boy, and changed his name.

His family supported him, but some pupils at Highsted had been less sympathetic and he had suffered some bullying, leading to the switch of schools, his mother Natasha Murphy told the inquest held at the Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone.

She described Ellis as "very articulate and musical."

He played the nose flute and had taught himself British Sign Language. He loved karaoke. She said: "The majority of the time he was a very happy person."

However, Ellis suffered from behavioural problems. He had often disappeared from home, sometimes staying out all night. He had started smoking cannabis, although a post mortem revealed no drink or drugs in his body at the time of his death.

Miss Murphy often had to call the police to help find Ellis and he also often reported to the accident and emergency department after self-harming.

Miss Murphy became increasingly concerned about his safety and he was admitted as a voluntary patient to hospital, first at Roehampton and then to the Kent and Medway Adolescent Unit.

Miss Murphy, 33, of Epps Road, Sittingbourne, said she was convinced her son was suffering from more than just behavioural problems and believed he had some type of personality disorder, but struggled to persuade the medical authorities to carry out an assessment.

Several witnesses described how Ellis's mood could switch in an instant from being depressed to ultra happy.

Ms Murphy was 17 when Ellis was born, and both lived for several years with her mother, Ellis's gran, Sharon Murphy, a secondary school teacher.

Ellis was in hospital from February until June 16 last year, but on his discharge went again to live with his gran in Faversham.

He had tried to self harm while in the hospital's care.

'He was delightful. I will miss him'

His mother believes TikTok was a 'serious factor' in her son's death and called for it to be an 'interested party' in his inquest, but this was rejected by a coroner after his inquest was opened.

Ellis's grandmother described him as "a wonderful child most of the time." She said he was kind, caring, and loved his family and his friends.

She said: "He was delightful and I miss him."

However, she also said she didn't believe Ellis always told the truth and said: "He sometimes liked the attention it [lying] brought."

Most of the time with her, Ellis was happy, but he would sometimes go quiet.

He had a scheduled appointment with the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) at Seashells in Sheerness.

Mrs Murphy took him there but when she returned to pick him up, he was upset.

Staff said he had expressed suicidal thoughts and wanted her to take Ellis to the crisis team at A&E straight away.

Ellis flatly refused to go and walked out of the clinic, saying he was going to see his friends.

Police were called and began a search, and Mrs Murphy and her partner went to Sheerness station, thinking he might be taking a train back to Faversham, but within half an hour Ellis had died.

Rachel Barrett, a barrister acting for Ellis's mum, argued that the staff at Seashells should have done more to protect a vulnerable child.

Caroline Allen, a barrister acting for the the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT), which runs the mental health service at Seashells, said staff had no legal power to detain Ellis and did all that could be expected in "an extremely fast-moving situation."

Coroner Sonya Hayes said it was a matter she would consider when she had heard all the evidence.

The inquest is expected to continue for another two days.

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