Mother pays tribute to 'loving' Shrewsbury boy, 14, as inquest opens
The mother of a 14-year-old Shrewsbury boy killed when he was struck by a train paid tribute to her "unique" son, as his inquest opened.
Jeff David Antwis died on January 30 after he was hit by a train at Shrewsbury's Harlescott Level Crossing.
Jeff was taken to hospital following after the incident at around 5.33am, but later died in hospital.
Speaking at the inquest, his mother Lorraine Antwis said Jeff, a schoolboy at Thomas Adams School in Wem, suffered from high functioning Aspergers and had been struggling with "low self esteem" for a number of months.
She described her son as "thoughtful and intelligent" and said he was a "loving caring child".
She said concerns about Jeff had been raised back in October, and he had admitted attempting to take his own life several times.
Ms Antwis said she had been in contact with the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to discuss her concerns and possible mental health treatment for Jeff, and that he had received two initial assessment appointments, with the second on January 25.
She told the hearing, that at that assessment they had been given a date for an appointment with a doctor on March 17.
She said: "He was tormented, he'd had enough and he was told he had to wait another two months."
The hearing also heard evidence from Dr Eleanor Adams, a close friend of the family, Di Cooper, a teaching assistant at Jeff's school who had close contact with him from the time he began secondary school.
The hearing was also addressed by Dr B Praveen, a GP who had referred Jeff for urgent assessment by CAHMS.
The inquest is expected to last three days at the Shirehall in Shrewsbury.
