Ex-soldier with history of mental illness died five days after being pulled from sea at North Pier

Former army private Jason Mausolf, 46, of Rossett Avenue, left his daughter's home on June 19 last year following a family argument.

His family feared for his safety and called the police. He was found by an officer at North Pier and had a discussion with her, a pre-inquest review heard yesterday.

He was seen in the water nearby a short time later.

He was retrieved by the RNLI service and transferred to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in a critical condition. He died five days later of bronchal pneumonia and sepsis caused by water inhalation, a post-mortem examination revealed.

Coroner Alan Wilson heard that Mr Mausolf had a history of mental health struggles and had been seen by two different mental health practitioners between 2019 and 2020. Just three days before he was found in the water, he had a meeting with his key worker about whether he should be discharged from the service.

Mr Wilson said he was 'not of the view that there is a basis for criticism of the Lancashire Trust' with regards to Mr Mausolf's care.

However, his sister and Irish twin Marika Mausolf, 46, said: "Obviously Jason had his issues, but my concern was that he was pushed aside. It wasn't taken seriously. Because of his drinking, they pushed it all aside. Why wasn't more done?"

Speaking following the hearing, she said: "Jason was a father of three daughters, and a granddad. He was very much a family man, and he had a big family as well. He was a big, gentle giant. A lot of people took him the wrong way, but he'd do anything for anyone.

"He struggled with his mental health and he did have episodes when he wasn't doing very good.

"Everybody has got their own suspicions about what happened, but we don't know for sure. We just want closure. That's all we want. We want to be able to grieve properly."

An inquest was arranged for April 22 and 23.