Family's tribute to 'dearly loved' son who died in incident at Northampton's Mayorhold car park last year

A Northampton family has paid tribute to their "fun-loving, kind" son who died in an incident at the Mayorhold car park last year.

Nothing could be done to save the life of Matthew Gadsden who died after falling from the multi-storey car park on April 23, 2019. He was 38.

At his inquest at County Hall in Northampton yesterday (December 2), the coroner heard how Mr Gadsden would be "profoundly missed" by everyone who knew him.

In a statement read out by the coroner, Matthew's father Martin said: "Matthew was a fun-loving, good humoured and kind individual. He was a central part of a close-knit family community.

"He was well-liked by his friends, loved by his family and will be profoundly missed by who knew him."

The coroner heard how members of the public and paramedic crews were on the scene within minutes in April 2019, but nothing could be done.

In the years following his death, three friends of Mr Gadsden raised over £1,865 for Northamptonshire mental health charity MIND in his memory.

A tribute on the group's fundraising page said the 38-year-old was "an absolute legend of a man," saying: "Matthew was a funny, warm and loyal mate: the very best kind."

Another of the group wrote: "He was the life and soul of so many key moments in my life, yet his life was cut tragically short.

"We laughed until we cried, played football endlessly, and constantly admired his biblical knowledge of music, but now we want to remember Matthew for the amazing dude he was."