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A former Harrogate solicitor who died of hypothermia struggled with alcohol dependency, an inquest heard today.

Richard Wade-Smith was found unresponsive in a cabman’s shelter on Harrogate's West Park, opposite Hotel du Vin, on September 15, 2023.

Mr Wade-Smith’s inquest opened on November 21, 2023, but a full hearing was held at Northallerton Coroner’s Court today.

Coroner Jonathan Leach told the court Mr Wade-Smith’s preliminary cause of death was hypothermia, but alcohol dependency, bipolar affective disorder, hypertensive heart disease and coronary atherosclerosis also contributed to his death.

The court heard Mr Wade-Smith, who was once a successful solicitor and ran his own legal service from Wedderburn House, had a number of health issues.

Mr Leach said these included problems with alcohol, which was first recorded by his GP in 2003 and led to many hospital admissions. 

While serving a custodial sentence, HMP Hull referred him to North Yorkshire Horizons – an alcohol and drug recovery service – to address his alcohol dependency in May 2023. 

After being released from prison in July 2023, Mr Wade-Smith was living at a hostel in Harrogate. The court heard he was seeing officers from the probation service and North Yorkshire Horizons. 

However, a statement prepared by North Yorkshire Horizons, read to the court by Mr Leach, said Mr Wade-Smith "did not fully engage" with treatment.

Mr Leach told the court Mr Wade-Smith, who was 67 when he died, was “spending less time at the hostel due to issues with another resident”. 

Mr Wade-Smith, who was born in Bradford in 1955, started sleeping rough at some stage. 

Emergency services’ accounts

A letter prepared by Yorkshire Ambulance Service said paramedics were called to where Mr Wade-Smith was found on the morning of September 15. 

The court heard:

Mr Leach also read a statement prepared by a named police officer. 

The officer said he went to the scene and Mr Wade-Smith, who had been found by a passerby, was “cold to the touch”.

The court also heard an account by a named police sergeant, who attended the scene. It said:

The court heard this confirmed Mr Wade-Smith “used the cabman’s shelter as a regular place to sleep” and he had slept there on the night of September 14. 

The police confirmed there was no suspicious activity surrounding Mr Wade-Smith’s death, Mr Leach said. 

His death was recorded by paramedics at 7.15am. 

Criminal convictions

Mr Wade-Smith was subject to a restraining order after ramming his car into his wife's Harrogate home on Boxing Day 2021.

The woman was awoken by a “smashing noise” and initially thought there had been an explosion, York Crown Court heard in 2022. 

She was too scared to leave the house, so she locked herself inside a bedroom and called the police.

York Crown Court heard at the time the woman went outside once officers had arrived and found Mr Wade-Smith had rammed his car into her front door.

He was spared jail at the time but later sent to prison for ten months after breaching the order.

Mr Wade-Smith was jailed again in June 2023 for indecent exposure on Stockwell Lane in Knaresborough.