'Loving but vulnerable' man died in his bed

A “hard-working and loving” but vulnerable man died in bed at a homeless hostel, an inquest has heard. Macauley Collins was 24 when staff at a Pontypridd hostel found him in his room having stopped breathing.

Paying tribute his mother Kirsty Brown said: “He’d light a room up as soon as he walked in and he had the most wicked sense of humour. He made people laugh and he thrived on it.

"He was very kind, hardworking, and very loving. He was a breath of fresh air. He loved his children and just wanted the best for them. His love for them was unconditional."

She continued: “It was always myself, my mother, and Macauley. The three musketeers, he used to call us, because we were always together. He worshipped me and my mother and he loved his eldest brother Lewis, always looked up to him, and wanted to be like him. To be honest I can’t cope since he’s gone. I’ve got this constant ache in my chest and this pain that just will not go.”

An inquest in Pontypridd on Tuesday heard that Mr Collinsgrew up living mainly with family in Penygraig and later Gelli before moving out and getting a flat of his own. He became a father as a young man and had a close relationship with his mother and grandmother.

He was also very close with his grandfather. The two had a “brilliant” relationship and Mr Collins worked for his grandfather cleaning windows. When his grandfather died Mr Collins lost his job, his mental health took a downturn and he began to struggle with drug and alcohol issues for the first time in his life, the hearing was told.

He spent time in various homeless hostels and briefly in prison. He had recently been released from prison in June 2022 and moved in to the Mill Street Hostel in Pontypridd, one of the RCT and Merthyr area’s temporary homeless accommodation centres.

On the night of July 8, 2022, Mr Collins came back to the hostel intoxicated, having complained about his legs feeling funny, before making food and going to bed. Support staff made additional welfare checks on Mr Collins through the night.

He was checked twice and found snoring in bed. During a third check at 2.30am on July 9 a staff member found Mr Collins not breathing. Emergency services were called and found Mr Collins on top of his bed. He was pronounced dead in the early hours of July 9.

No suspicious circumstances were found. Mr Collins had expressed suicidal thoughts in the days before his death but the coroner said his death was not due to suicide. She did not find either sufficient evidence he would have intended to take his life or that the drugs or alcohol in his system were enough to have done so.

A toxicology report found concentrations of ethanol (from alcohol) and THC in his system as well as several prescription drugs, some of which he was prescribed and some he was not. None were found to be a fatally poisoning amount but some may have had a sedative effect.

A pathologist found his medical cause of death to be aspiration pneumonia contributed to by "aspiration of gastric contents in the setting of alcohol, methadone, diazepam, and mirtazapine use". An alcoholic fatty liver disease was also mentioned as a factor that would not have helped Mr Collins’ body in dealing with this.

Assistant coroner Rachel Knight found it was likely the intoxication prevented his reflexes from waking him up and it was more likely than not that he died as a consequence of alcohol and drugs from choking on his vomit with the snoring possibly being a sign of aspiration. She recorded a conclusion of a drug and alcohol-related death.

Ms Brown added: “I spoke to him every day if not twice or three times a day. I was his advocate because he was a vulnerable adult. That’s all I’ve done from the time that he was in school is back Macauley, have his corner, to encourage him and try to get the best for him. He was my baby.”

Her son was trying to turn his life around, expressing a wish to stop drinking, and was due to start training for a CSCS card so he could work in construction. His desire to get over his alcohol issues, she said, was how he found himself returning to prison: “He would say to me that he was not going to turn up to probation so he would be sanctioned and go back to prison and get off the alcohol.

“When he last came out of prison he said he was never going back in and I don’t think he ever would have. He wanted to turn his life around and be a positive role model for his children but he was vulnerable.”

The coroner told Mr Collins’ family: “I want to give you my personal condolences on the loss of Macauley. He has left a legacy of some children and you have that to remember him. I know that he had difficulties but it is clear from your attendance here that he was very much loved and cared for.”

Staff at Pobl, the housing association that now operates the Mill Street Hostel, have had additional training since Mr Collins’ death in spotting snoring as a possible sign that a person may have aspirated. Mr Collins’ mother said one positive had come out of the situation in the form of her relationship with 2wish, a Welsh charity supporting those affected by the sudden death of a young person. “Helen from 2wish got in touch with me a week after Macauley died and came out to see me,” she said.

“Without Helen I don’t know where I would have been. When I was informed Macauley had died there was no other support in place but 2wish has funded my counselling and provided a memory box. Having somebody to support you through the worst time of your life… the work that they do is absolutely amazing. It’s a wonderful, wonderful charity.

“I sing for a 2wish choir with a few mams who have lost their children. Losing a child the pain is totally unbearable but I’m part of a group of people in 2wish where none of us want to be there but we’re all there to help and support each other.”

If you have lost a child or young adult aged 25 or under you can get in contact with 2wish by visiting https://www.2wish.org.uk/. The charity is based in Wales and currently expanding into England.