A man who struggled with mental health difficulties should have been 'prevented' from going to his workplace, where he was found dead, an inquest has heard. 

Wayne Mason, 49, died at Claxton Engineering Limited in Great Yarmouth on March 17 this year.  

The inquest, sitting at Norfolk County Hall on Wednesday (November 23), heard that Mr Mason, who suffered from anxiety and depression, was signed off work by his GP seven days before his death.  

A statement by his sister Stephanie Mason was read to the inquest.  

She said that her brother continued to go to work “unchallenged” and that his mental health issues were partly caused by work stress but “nothing was put in place to prevent him going to work”.  

Dr Myles Duffield, the deceased man's GP, told the hearing that he met Mr Mason on March 3 when they discussed the possibility of referring him to the local community mental health team, on the advice of a counsellor who had seen him in February. 

But Mr Mason was “adamant he did not want that”, the inquest heard.  

Dr Duffield said they also discussed whether or not it would be a good idea to take time off work. 

“I didn't want him anywhere near work,” Dr Duffield said.  

A statement from Andrew Young, who works at Claxton Engineering, said that the company had referred Mr Mason for counselling a few weeks before his death as they were "worried about him". 

The inquest heard that although Mr Mason had been signed off work for two weeks by his GP on March 10, he continued to go to the office. 

A report into the incident by the company was read to the inquest and it said that from March 1, Mr Mason had been instructed to not be in the office alone or to be there past 5pm. 

A statement from Toyin Idowu, a therapist, said that she assessed Mr Mason before sending an email to his GP on February 10, recommending that he be referred to the local community mental health team as soon as possible. 

The inquest is expected to finish on Thursday (November 24). 

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