Man's body was found at foot of Shropshire beauty spot Chirk aqueduct, inquest hears

A Shropshire man was found at the foot of a beauty spot a few miles from his home.

At an inquest hearing in Ruthin, Kate Robertson, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, recorded a conclusion of suicide on 58-year-old Arthur Graham Roberts, whose body was found below Chirk aqueduct on August 7 last year. Mr Roberts, from Gobowen near Oswestry was a director of Quad Fuels.

The coroner read a statement from Louise Dagnall who described how she and her husband were walking along the canal towpath that morning and when he stopped to chat to another man she looked down and spotted Mr Roberts lying face down. Emergency services attended and despite efforts at CPR Mr Roberts was declared dead at the scene.

Mr Roberts’s wife Elaine, described her husband as “an amazing husband and father”. A keen Manchester United fan, he was also a loyal member of Oswestry Cricket Club.

Mrs Roberts said he had suffered with severe migraines for which he had been referred by his GP to Wrexham Maelor Hospital but nothing major was diagnosed. Recording a suicide conclusion, the coroner said a note was found which clearly showed an intention to take his own life.

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