Police conclude investigation into triple death crash on A61 between Harrogate and RiponEx-Harrogate solicitor struggled with alcohol dependency, inquest hearsMan finds early medieval pendant in village near BoroughbridgeHarrogate man, 31, found dead in armchair, inquest hearsMetal detector finds Roman ring near AldboroughFormer Harrogate vet died after injecting animal euthanasia drug, inquest hears

A former Harrogate vet took her life by taking drugs used to euthanise animals after reactivating her licence, an inquest heard.

Sarah Jane Bromiley, 49, was found dead at a house on Red Hills Road, Ripon, on May 22, 2023.

Coroner Catherine Cundy said the death raised questions about how registered vets can acquire controlled drugs without an official premises inspection.

Ms Bromiley first registered as a veterinary surgeon in 1988 but stopped practising in 2006 following the birth of her first child.

The inquest heard during that time she had “non-practising status”, and instead began working as a practice manager at her husband’s dental surgery in Ripon.

But the coroners court in Northallerton heard yesterday Ms Bromiley later registered to re-activate her licence with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in October 2020, and was able to order a quantity of a controlled drug to her home address without an official premises inspection.

Ms Cundy said Ms Bromiley’s application was accepted by the RCVS just a month later, when she registered her family’s second residential home as her practice premises.

In May 2021, Ms Bromiley indicated to the RCVS she was “not sure” when she would officially begin practising as a vet but outlined her business plan to offer euthanasia services to small animals and horses through home visits.

The coroner said, based on evidence supplied by the RCVS, which is responsible for regulating individual vets and sole practitioners, and the Veterinary Medications Directorate (VMD), which is responsible for inspecting veterinary practices, she was satisfied that this method of veterinary practicing was “not uncommon, particularly in rural areas”.

No inspection of premises

Although originally registered in Ripon, the court heard Ms Bromiley changed the address of her registered veterinary practice to that of her family home on Rutland Drive, in Harrogate, on July 1, 2021.

The VMD was notified of the change, the coroner said, and offered Ms Bromiley an official inspection of the new address.

The coroner said:

“I accept that the VMD emailed Sarah and offered to carry out an inspection of the updated premises on February 2, 2022.

“Sarah replied to the email a week later, on February 9, to say she had ‘not yet started operating as a practice’, and asked what the inspection would involve.

“Sarah was then sent the inspection criteria by the VMD and was told she would be contacted again in six months’ time. But by then, she would sadly already be deceased.”

The coroner attributed the VMD’s delay in carrying out inspections to a “considerable backlog following the pandemic”.

In January 2022, Ms Bromiley told the RCVS she was planning to use both the Harrogate and formerly registered Ripon addresses as her practices, but just over a year later, added she “still had not begun work on animals”.

Neither property was ever inspected, the court heard.

Ordering the controlled drugs

The court heard, although a formal premises inspection never took place, as a registered veterinary surgeon, Ms Bromiley was able to order controlled drugs.

She placed the first of two orders with wholesaler National Veterinary Services in July 2021 and said the substance would be “for use on small animals”.

The coroner said the wholesaler undertook the relevant checks “as required” when a vet places an order of restricted substances, adding Ms Bromiley filled in the relevant forms before the drugs were delivered to her home address in Ripon.

The coroner said there was “no evidence” to suggest the first order was ever used on animals.

Ms Bromiley then ordered a larger quantity of the same controlled substance in April 2023. However, this time, she noted the order was “urgent” and was, again, required for use on small animals.

Instead of home delivery, Ms Bromiley made a 200-mile round trip from Harrogate to Stoke-on-Trent to collect the drugs, where she was required to show her drivers’ licence and provide a signature.

At the time, she also collected other veterinary paraphernalia, which the coroner concluded was used to assist her death a little more than a month later.

Coroner’s conclusion

Ms Cundy said from the spring of 2020 until her death, Ms Bromiley attended regular medical consultations. She complained of “chest pains, fatigue and low blood pressure”, but the only diagnosis ever given was that of a cyst on her jaw, the court heard.

She was also told she may be suffering from long covid, the coroner said, adding Ms Bromiley grew “frustrated” at the absence of an official diagnosis.

However, Ms Cundy cited Ms Bromiley’s medical records, which stated she was showing signs of “low mood” in April 2022 – more than a year prior to her death – but had declined a referral to mental health services.

The coroner then concluded the journey to obtain the euthanasia drug, instead of home delivery, was done to “conceal” the order from others, adding:

“I find collecting the drugs was indicative of Sarah’s mind and I suspect her growing intent to take her own life.”

On Sunday, May 21, 2023, Ms Bromiley told her husband, Roger, she would be staying at their second property in Ripon, which the court heard was “normal” for the couple.

The coroner said the couple exchanged messages that evening until 10pm.

However, concerns grew after Ms Bromiley did not turn up for work at the dental practice the following day (Monday, May 22).

The court heard Mr Bromiley visited the property at lunch time to check on his wife, but found the door was “locked with the key on the inside”.

Ms Cundy then said Mr Bromiley returned to the house at around 6pm with a screwdriver to unlock the door, adding:

“Inside, Mr Bromiley found an envelope on the landing outside one of the upstairs bedroom doors. It said, ‘do not come in – call the police or 999’.”

Ms Cundy concluded, according to notes left by Ms Bromiley addressed to her husband, children, family and even the coroner, she was “adamant she was not mentally ill” and instead said she was suffering from “grief”.

The coroner also said:

“I find along with the police investigation there was no third party involved or any suspicious circumstances surrounding Sarah’s death.

“I believe she acted alone and intravenously self-administered the drug, which was found at a level associated with fatality in the toxicology report.

“I conclude a cause of death of suicide and find Sarah, sadly, took steps to meticulously end her own life.”

Ms Cundy noted she would send a “letter of concern” to the Veterinary Medications Directorate and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons expressing concern over the means by which registered vets, who are in the “same regime someone like Sarah was in”, can acquire controlled drugs without an official premises inspection.

She did, however, recognise it would not be “practical or realistic” to request a second signature upon delivery of controlled drugs to sole practitioner vets as a means of preventing similar acts, when they “don’t work alongside other vets”.

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Ex-solicitor died of hypothermia in Harrogate cabman’s shelter, inquest hears

A former Harrogate solicitor died of hypothermia in a cabman’s shelter on the Stray, an inquest has heard.

Richard Wade-Smith, 67, was found “unresponsive” in the distinctive green shelter on West Park, opposite Hotel Du Vin, at 7.15am on September 15.

Besides hypothermia, Mr Wade-Smith’s cause of death was also attributed to alcohol dependency, bipolar affective disorder, hypertensive heart disease and coronary artherosclerosis, the opening inquest in Northallerton heard yesterday.

He worked for a number of Yorkshire law firms and ran his own legal service from Wedderburn House. But his life descended into a downward spiral after a string of criminal convictions.

He was subject to a restraining order after ramming his car into his wife’s Harrogate home and subjecting her to “mental torture” on Boxing Day 2021.

He was later jailed for 10 months for breaching the order and was jailed again in June this year for indecent exposure on Stockwell Lane in Knaresborough.

The inquest was adjourned to a full hearing at a later date.

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Inquest opens into 15-year-old girl killed in A61 crash at South Stainley

An inquest opened this morning into the death of a 15-year-old girl who was killed in a crash on the A61 between Harrogate and Ripon.

Anastasia Bartienieva died following a three-vehicle collision that involved a double decker bus on Ripon Road at South Stainley on September 3.

Her step-mother, Daria Bartienieva, 35, and her younger brother, Ihor Bartienieva, 6, also died as a result of the crash.

All three were from Ukraine and living in Ripon.

An inquest into the death of Anastasia was opened at a hearing in Northallerton this morning.

The court heard the teenager was a front seat passenger in a car involved in the collision. A provisional cause of death was given as multiple injuries due to blunt force trauma.

The inquest was adjourned to a full hearing at a later date.

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Jon Heath, senior coroner for North Yorkshire, opened inquests for Daria and Ihor in Northallerton on September 25.

Mr Heath said both were killed as a result of a road traffic collision. The provisional cause of death was given as multiple injuries due to blunt force trauma.

Holy Trinity School paid tribute to former pupil Ihor after the collision.

A fundraiser set up for 15-year-old Liza Bartienieva, who was orphaned following the incident, raised £48,000.

Inquests open into fatal A61 crash at South Stainley

Inquests into the deaths of two of the three people killed in a crash on the A61 at South Stainley opened today.

Daria Bartienieva, 35, and her son Ihor Bartienieva, 6, died after a three-vehicle collision that involved a double decker bus on Ripon Road on September 3.

Daria’s step-daughter, Anastasiia Bartienieva, 15, was also killed as a result of the collision.

All three were from Ukraine and living in Ripon.

Jon Heath, senior coroner for North Yorkshire, opened the inquests into Daria and Ihor at a hearing in Northallerton this morning.

Mr Heath said both were killed as a result of a road traffic collision. The provisional cause of death was given as “multiple injuries” due to blunt force trauma.

The hearing was adjourned for a full inquest at a later date.

Holy Trinity School paid tribute to former pupil Ihor after the collision.

A fundraiser set up for 15-year-old Liza Bartienieva, who was orphaned following the incident, raised £48,000.

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Harrogate musician died from poorly-managed diabetes, inquest finds

A talented Harrogate musician diagnosed with diabetes at 18 died eight years later from the disease, an inquest heard today.

Aaron Joseph Bertenshaw was 26 when he went into a diabetic coma and died at his home in Dene Park in December 2021.

At the inquest in Northallerton, coroner Catherine Cundy heard evidence that he had struggled to come to terms with his diagnosis and the condition had not been well managed.

Mr Bertenshaw, a popular musician who also worked as a barber, was admitted to the emergency department of Harrogate District Hospital 40 times over a period of five years.

Of those, 36 admissions were because of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which occurs when the blood glucose level is dangerously high.

Following his high frequency of admission to hospital, a multi-disciplinary team meeting was called in April 2021, involving the GP practice as well as the hospital’s diabetes team.

As well as his poor diabetes control, health professionals were concerned that he failed to keep appointments or respond to attempts to contact him.

The meeting considered whether Mr Bertenshaw had the mental capacity to make decisions in his own interests and it was agreed this would be assessed whenever contact was made with him in future.

However, the psychiatry team at Harrogate District Hospital never felt that Mr Bertenshaw had an underlying mental health problem that would have impacted on his ability to make decisions.

Mental health

The consultant psychiatrist, Dr Akram, told the court Mr Bertenshaw had had a number of referrals to mental health services over several years, the latest in October 2021.

He said patients in acute episodes of DKA can lack judgement and behave strangely, but this does not mean they have a mental health disorder.

Nor, he said, can someone be detained under the mental health act to force them to accept treatment, which Mr Bertenshaw’s parents had suggested could have been done for him.

The community mental health team felt that Mr Bertenshaw was struggling to accept his diagnosis, but was not deliberately misusing his insulin.

Dr Akram added:

“His intention was not to hurt himself. He just wanted to be on a different type of diabetic medication.”

The inquest also heard that the diabetes team at the hospital had discussed different options with Mr Bertenshaw to help him manage his condition.

He had requested going onto an insulin pump, which diabetes consultant Dr Sutapa Ray told the inquest had been “on the table” for him.

She said Mr Bertenshaw was told he first needed to have his sugar levels under control, which he had not been able to do.

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Mr Bertenshaw’s mother, Sammy Oates, told the court he had lost a significant amount of weight and vomited after every meal, causing her to suspect he had an eating disorder.

However, Dr Ray said this was a common symptom in cases of poorly controlled diabetes, and Mr Bertenshaw had not engaged well with the diabetes team to help him manage the condition.

She said:

“It was very much the case that we would reach out to Aaron and we would do whatever he allowed us to do to engage with him to make the changes that needed to be made…

“Type one diabetes is such a burdensome condition. People adjust in different ways. Some take years and years, and some never come to terms with it.

“It’s probably one of the most difficult conditions to live with for the person and the people around them. it’s not at all uncommon [to struggle with it].”

The court heard Mr Bertenshaw had avoided emergency admission to the hospital for most of 2021.

When he was admitted in early October, he said he had been drinking and taking cocaine following the death of a friend. Having initially refused tests and treatment, he did later agree to accept help.

He was again referred to the mental health team but, despite repeated attempts to contact him, he failed to respond.

Aaron BertenshawAaron Bertenshaw was a well-known musician who gigged around Harrogate

On Thursday, December 2, 2021, Mr Bertenshaw’s mother went to his house, having not been able to contact him or seen him active on WhatsApp since Monday, November 29.

She found him on his living room floor, and paramedics attended to confirm his death.

Police officers who were also present reported signs of a “chaotic” lifestyle, including an unhealthy diet, and use of alcohol and drugs.

The post-mortem and toxicology reports found that while there was some cocaine in his system, it was not in large enough quantities to have put him at risk of death. However, the court heard use of cocaine is thought to be linked to a higher risk of DKA.

Concluding that Mr Bertenshaw had died of natural causes relating to his diabetes, Ms Cundy said she had not seen any evidence that more could have been done to intervene by the organisations caring for him.

She said she accepted that sectioning him to force him to take medication was not appropriate, adding:

“People cannot and should not be detained in psychiatric institutions simply because they make what others of us might consider to be unwise choices about how they live their lives.”