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Cliff-roll man in child support struggle
A 41-year-old sales manager who rolled himself over the edge of a cliff was
struggling to pay child support, an inquest has heard.
Michael Parsons, from Devizes, appeared to be sleeping on the cliff edge in
Dorset when he was woken up by a walker closing a gate on a coastal path.
He then rolled over twice and fell more than 360ft without making a sound on the
evening of July 30.
continued...
Police found two carrier bags on the cliff near Swanage with a third-full bottle
of whisky and a packet of paracetamol tablets with four left.
They also discovered suicide notes in his Mercedes car parked nearby.
Detective Constable Patrick Donnelly of Dorset Police said officers found
letters from companies demanding money for outstanding loans at Mr Parsons'
house.
Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner's Court heard that Mr Parsons paid a
third of his income to the Child Support Agency, he had a mortgage and
repayments to meet on his car.
Mr Parsons also owed money to a friend and had recently defaulted on his
repayments.
Lorraine Ray, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his 15-year-old daughter, said she
had tried to get the amount he paid to the CSA reduced.
Ms Ray, who lives near Salisbury, said: "I did try to speak to the CSA about it.
I said He has got to live. I have got to live.' but these people are a law unto
themselves."
Holidaymaker Lyn Crossman saw Mr Parsons sleeping on the wrong side of a barbed
wire fence six-foot from the cliff edge.
She said, in a statement read to the Bournemouth inquest: "The male appeared to
me to be sleeping. My first thought was what a stupid place to fall asleep."
Ms Crossman, from Gloucestershire, added: "As I opened the gate it made a large
clicking sound. The male seemed to wake up and had a surprised look on his face,
like someone who has been woken suddenly.
"The male rolled over twice and then disappeared over the cliff. He didn't make
a sound."
Pathologist Katie Boyd said Mr Parson's blood alcohol reading was just under the
legal limit for driving.
The cause of death was given as damage to multiple organs consistent with a fall
from a height. Coroner Sheriff Payne recorded a suicide verdict and said: "It
was quite clear he intended to take his own life."
9:23am Wednesday 23rd August 2006
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