An Afghanistan veteran who collapsed in the street died due to the alcohol and medication he took for respite from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

James Day collapsed on Malvern Street, Old Trafford, on May 6 last year and died despite the efforts of the emergency services in attendance at the scene.

At Stockport Coroner's Court last year the senior coroner Alison Mutch came to the conclusion Mr Day died due to the alcohol and the medication he took for respite from PTSD and, this month, Ms Mutch wrote to the Ministry of Defence out of concern for its approach to the condition.

She said the availability of support both before and after his discharge from the Armed Forces might have had a bearing on his decision to turn to "self-medication".

Ms Mutch said: "The inquest heard support for service personnel with PTSD such as Mr Day whilst serving and following discharge was difficult to access and did not appear to recognise how significant the impact of events they had witnessed whilst serving could be on their mental health.

"The inquest heard support whilst serving and following discharge might have avoided Mr Day having to turn to self-medication to try to have respite from PTSD."

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the ministry was not aware of the inquest until the correspondence from the senior coroner. They stressed the availability of support including peer-to-peer support, pre-operational and post-operational training and a range of psychological treatment.

There is mental health advice for service personnel on gov.uk and nhs.uk and a 24-hour mental health helpline for service personnel called Combat Stress.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "We are grateful to the senior coroner for her report which informed us of the inquest last year into the tragic death of Mr Day, which we were not previously aware of.

"We take the health and wellbeing of our people – serving and veteran – extremely seriously and we will be providing a response in due course. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Mr Day's friends and family." 

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.