A singer who died at Chelmsford station earlier this year intended to take his own life, an inquest has found.

Patrick Aspbury, who rose to fame as a child for being a member of boyband the Choirboys, jumped onto the tracks and was hit by a train in April.

After a three-day hearing at Essex Coroners' Court, a jury returned the verdict that Patrick had committed suicide.

At the time of his death, Patrick had been an inpatient of a mental health ward at the Linden Centre, in Broomfield, undergoing treatment for schizophrenia.

On the day he died, Patrick had been allowed out on leave from the ward.

He caught a bus from The Blue Lion pub, in Great Baddow, before getting off at the station where he bought a ticket to Witham at around 3.20pm.

During the inquest jurors were played CCTV footage which showed Patrick sitting down for a short while, before jumping into the path of the train.

The court heard how the driver of the train, which had been travelling at 60mph, had applied the emergency brake but was unable to stop it in time.

The inquest heard how Patrick had made comments about jumping in front of a train during an open therapy session only two days prior to being allowed leave.

Several members of staff from the Linden Centre attended the inquest to give evidence.

Jonathan Ficken, an occupational therapist, said he had spoken with Patrick about his suicidal comments during a walk.

Mr Ficken said that Patrick had claimed he made the comments to shock people and that he felt upset he had to take medication.

Linden Centre psychiatrist Dr Flechtner told the court that Patrick had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and that he had found this diagnosis hard to accept.

Dr Flechtner testified that the plan was to move Patrick into supported housing and that Patrick never seemed at risk of self-harm or of suicide.

Patrick's father, Peter Asbury, also gave evidence during the hearings.

Mr Aspbury told the court how Patrick's increasingly difficult behaviour led to his being sectioned five times from 2014 until his death.

Mr Aspbury also criticised the "sleepiness" of the Linden Centre, stating his son was "bored" and that there were some staff members who were just "doing a job".

He suggested that there should be a "patient champion" to ensure the voice of the patient is taken into consideration when decisions are made that affect their care.

When Mr Aspbury picked Patrick up from the centre on the day of his death, he described his son as in "a constant state of worry" and said he was not forthcoming at all.

Despite Patrick's remarks about wanting to jump in front of a train just two days before his death, he was still allowed out on temporary leave from the centre.

But several hours after this conversation took place, Patrick left his father's house and headed to Chelmsford station.