A promising young cyclist took his own life after his mental health spiralled following struggles to adapt to his new sixth-form school, an inquest heard.

Described as a "bright and enthusiastic" member of the Cleveland Wheelers Cycling Club in Teesside, Lawrence Dryden, 17, died on January 2 this year at the home he shared with his mum on St Mary's Walk, in Acklam, Middlesbrough.

An inquest into Mr Dryden's death took place at Teesside Magistrates' Court in Middlesbrough on Thursday (July 11) - where assistant coroner for Teesside, Benjamin Haigh, ruled the 17-year-old's death as suicide. 

The inquest heard from Dr Batterchargi, who performed the post-mortem examination on the teenager, who highlighted that police, the air ambulance and paramedics attended his home on January 2 after Lawrence's mum, Mary, had found her son unresponsive. 

He was treated by paramedics at the scene, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Later in the inquest, the coroner's court was told that Mr Dryden had been feeling down since the summer of 2023 and had sought advice from Dr Angela Paddick, a GP and mental health professional at Cambridge Medical Group in Middlesbrough

The inquest heard that in December 2023, Mr Dryden called Dr Paddick after his mum had requested it. 

After noting the stresses of his A-levels, the 17-year-old reportedly told Dr Paddick that he didn't feel suicidal at that time, and was prescribed anti-depressants. 

The inquest also heard from Lawrence's father, Eric Dryden, who attended the inquest, and said that his son was a person who "kept his cards close to his chest".

The last time that he saw his son was the evening before he took his own life - and said that Lawrence seemed himself and hugged his dad before leaving the property.

In his statement to the coroner, his dad said that his son, who had started at Yarm School and hoped to be an accountant, before becoming disillusioned with the prospect of a desk job, felt pressure to perform and was overwhelmed by the workload.  

This was compounded by buying a car that had issues and high mileage.

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Outside of school, Lawrence was a promising cyclist who racked up 10,000 miles in 2022 - but this mileage significantly reduced in 2023, due to having to do his school work. 

Summing up the inquest, assistant coroner Haigh, ruled Mr Dryden's death as suicide.

Following the 17-year-old's death, the Cleveland Wheelers Cycling Club paid tribute to Lawrence, who started cycling in 2020, on their website. 

The teenager, who was affectionately known as Lawrie, won several cycling championships, including the Teesside Hill Climb Junior champion, Cleveland Wheelers Newgate Bank prime in the Four Dales TTT in 2021, and 2022 Teesside District Championship Sporting Courses Boys.

In the post, the tribute read: "He was excited to buy his first road bike, enjoyed training and racing at the Middlesbrough Cycle Circuit at the Monday night youth and junior sessions.

"But soon he wanted more and started to enjoy the delights of the Sunday club runs, encouraged, and supported by several club members. Within a year, Lawrie had progressed to riding in the fast club runs, happily completing the 150-mile challenge ride in a single day at the age of 16.

"He was academically gifted, well-read, and possessed a tremendous general knowledge. He was confident, well-mannered and had a lovely dry sense of humour. In short, he was a pleasure to ride with on the long winter club runs and will be massively missed."

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