A FORMER SAS soldier whose disappearance sparked a major community search effort was let down by mental health services, his family have said.

The inquest heard Michael Paul Anthony Worsley, 69, was suffering severe mental health problems when he went missing from his Withington home on January 18.

Friends and neighbours rallied to find the retired risk management consultant after he failed to return home from a walk.

He was found dead in a field near his home on January 22 with significant self-inflicted wounds and massive blood loss.

The coroner heard that Mr Worsley had suffered with insomnia, depression, PTSD and alcoholism, and had stopped driving following a seizure.

Former army colleague Melvyn Ford said his increasing concerns about Mr Worsley’s state of mind came to a head on January 15, when Mr Worsley admitted his plans to end his life.

He persuaded Mr Worsley to attend A&E the next day, where he was deemed him to be a suicide risk by the crisis team.

But despite his low mood, suicide plans and insomnia, Mr Worsley was not admitted and was sent home to be visited daily.

Together NHS Trust said Mr Worsley had refused admission to the unit and that he was not actively suicidal when he was seen, but medical notes from the assessment did not support this.

Mr Ford, who was present at the assessment, said he could not agree with the trust’s assertions.

He was visited the next day, but no visit took place on January 18.

His daughter Rebecca said she felt her father had been in a desperate, helpless state, and that he had been let down by the mental health services. “He helped so many people, but could not seem to help himself,” she said.

Coroner Mark Bricknell recorded a verdict of suicide.