A HEARTBREAKING final text message stating "I love you, I apologise in advance" was sent by a "loving man" to his girlfriend before he took his own life.

Matthew Hall, aged 28, sent a series of text messages to Jessica Khokhar the evening before his body was found on a railway line, just a quarter of a mile outside Atherton Train Station, on the morning of April 22 this year.

An inquest heard that Mr Hall, a healthcare assistant at the Royal Bolton Hospital, had mental health issues, including anxiety and had sought online counselling.

In a statement, his father, Michael, described his son, a talented artist, as having a " compassionate nature" and who had volunteered to help refugees in Calais.

Mr Hall also had a love travelling and would make friends everywhere he went and had a good social life.

On the night before he was discovered with multiple injuries on the railway line, he had sent messages to Miss Khokar saying he loved her and she "deserved more" than he could offer her.

He described her as the "best thing" that had happened to him.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, I love you, you  deserve far more a man than I can offer you," read the message.

That evening Mr Hall, who lived in Atlas Mill, had been with Miss Khokar at her family home for Easter.

The inquest heard he had been drinking socially that day ­— ale and vodka ­— when his behaviour changed and he also suffered an asthma attack.

In a statement, Miss Khokhar said she said to Matthew''s "behaviour was strange" and had put it down to being drunk.

The couple left together to walk the short distance to Miss Khokhar's home before he tried to leave the house. She locked the doors and he jumped out of the window.

She desperately contacted him by phone and received texts from him saying he loved her and she told him to "stop ignoring her".

Miss Khokar told the inquest that Mr Hall had told her he had previously attempted to take his own life, but she added that his behaviour that evening was out of character.

The last text message she received stated "I love you, I apologise in advance" after that he was uncontactable. Miss Khokhar reported him missing to police.

Mr Hall's body was discovered on the railway line the next morning by train driver Darren Riley, who when pulling into Atherton Train Station noticed something on the track, but was unsure if it was a body.

Mr Riley pressed the emergency stop to prevent other trains from coming on to the track and went to investigate, when he found the body of Mr Hall.

In a statement he said he had not "experienced a collision" and it appeared another train had hit Mr Hall, who a short time later was pronounced dead.

A post-mortem report revealed that the cause of death was multiple injuries.

Investigator for British Transport Police Leanne Callan said the injuries sustained were consistent with being struck by a train.

She said Mr Hall was seen on the train station's CCTV at 11.14 pm and looked on "unsteady on his feet". He was seen to stop for a couple of minutes before walking through the station before disappearing out of CCTV range.

Mr Hall's father, said in a statement his son had a medical episode in 2018, in which he was found walking in Wigan without shoes and waking up in hospital, with no recollection of the event. On visiting his flat, Michael said there was no food or electricity, so he put money in the meter and went shopping for food with his son.

He added Matthew had started counselling and had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and following his death, he learned his son had skin cancer.

Mr Hall's family were in constant contact with him and he would reassure them about his health.

Close friend Hannah Walker said Mr Hall had told her that he had cancer and that "it had spread".

She said he had also told her he was undergoing treatment.

Miss Walker said: "He was scared"

But Mr Hall's GP Margaret Talbot said she had no record of those conditions.

She said Mr Hall had visited the surgery with anxiety symptoms and after a lengthy consultation was referred for counselling to the Mental Health Team, but he did not engage with the service.

Assistant coroner Rachael Galloway, concluded the death was due to suicide.

“It is clear to me that Matthew was a caring and loving man, he provided a lot of support to other people, he was a healthcare assistant, his focus was on other people.

"But sadly I think Matthew was not somebody who found it easy to open up to anybody about his mental health or how he was feeling."

She said he told of physical difficulties which were 'not accurate'.

“It was clear that both family and friends tried to get Matthew to open up, but he was very private individual and found it difficult."

Samaritans operate a 24-hour helpine on 116 123.