Tom Dingle, a student at Lancaster University, was found dead 12 days after he was reported missing, last seen leaving his student accommodation in Appley Bridge in Wigan
A 19-year-old university student who was discovered dead on Christmas Day — having been missing for nearly two weeks — took his own life, an inquest heard.
Tom Dingle vanished last December after leaving his student accommodation in Appley Bridge in Wigan in the early hours of 13 December. Following his disappearance, Lancashire Police launched several appeals, with his mother Sue saying that Tom was “in a vulnerable state of mind” and “grieving” following a “traumatic event”.
It transpired his girlfriend Natasha Braithwaite, a fellow first-year student at Lancaster University, was tragically found dead in her room at student accommodation weeks before Tom vanished. His disappearance triggered a large-scale search operation, with drones, police dogs, and mountain rescue teams all deployed.
Tom was subsequently found by a member of the public in woodland off Lees Lane in Dalton, Lancashire, on Christmas Day, approximately onr mile from where he was last spotted.
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Lancashire Police confirmed at the time that his death was not being treated as suspicious. An inquest at Preston Coroner’s Court on Thursday concluded that Tom took his own life, with the cause of death recorded as hanging, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Natasha’s inquest, which happened in March, heard the student had “fatal” levels of morphine in her system at the time of her death, which was recorded as drug-related. The inquest into Natasha’s death revealed that the pair had first encountered one another during a fresher’s night, with Tom describing her in a police statement as “a very kind girl who was extroverted”. Natasha was discovered dead in her room on November 20, 2025.
In a tribute released in January via Lancashire Police, Tom’s family said: “Tom was an incredibly intelligent and caring young man who had his whole life ahead of him. Tom’s death has left a hole in our hearts which will never be filled. Christmas, and life as a whole, will never be the same without our Tom.
“To honour Tom’s memory, we as a family and Tom’s friends wish to raise money for the Royal British Legion. This is a charity very close to us, and we know it is what Tom would have wanted.
“Finally, we wish to thank the police, the volunteers from Mountain Rescue and all the people of the community and beyond for their incredible help and support.”
You can find the fundraising page in Tom’s memory here.
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