Benefits Street TV star Lee Nutley ‘was found dead in front of the TV by his dad on estate where show was filmed’
Hearing told that star of Channel 4 show had suffered from depression and seizures
BENEFITS Street TV star Lee Nutley was found dead in front of the TV on the estate where the hit show was filmed by his worried dad, a Coroner's Court has heard.
He was discovered alone in his flat after his dad William Nutley became worried that there was no answer.
A hearing heard that Lee, who had struggled with drug abuse for 20 years, had suffered from depression and seizures in the 12 months leading to his death, reported.
William told the hearing: “The door wasn’t locked but the latch was on the chain inside, which I thought was strange.”
William entered through a side door and realised his son had died. He went to a neighbours house, in Kingston Road in Stockton, to call an ambulance.
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An inquest into Lee's death was adjourned until Friday by the coroner.
In October the Channel 4 star was given an emotional send-off as hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their respects at his funeral.
A horse-drawn carriage carried his coffin, coated in the flag of his beloved Middlesbrough Football Club, to Stockton Parish Church, in Stockton-on-Tees.
Pastor Linda Donaldson, who took the service at the packed church, said Lee’s “precious little companion”, his Jack Russell, Mitsy, was also in attendance.
She said Lee, the eldest of five children, was loved not just by his family but by all who knew him, his many friends and neighbours.
The pastor said: “It seems to know him was to love him.
“I would suggest Lee was so likeable because he was so genuine. He never hid who he was.
“He was someone with a great ability to be completely non-judgemental.
“Others might have judged him, but he judged no one. He was compassionate and kind and adored his family. He was funny and never held a grudge and would do anything for anybody.”
Norton-born Lee trained as an electrician when he left school, and also worked alongside his mum, Chrissie, in a kitchen.
He had relied on food banks and the kindness of his neighbours to survive after losing his construction job two-years-ago.
A former heroin addict, he told Benefits Street how he suffered seizures and had been on and off anti-depressants for eight years, but was determined to turn himself around and find work again.
Lee was dad to Lee Jnr, 22, and had recently become a grandad.
Paying tribute to her son in The Gazette Lee's heartbroken mum, Chrissie, described him as “a fantastic lad, a lovable rogue” who had “respect and time for everyone”.
“He still looked well even though he had his troubled past,” she said.
Lee told The Gazette in May that he regretted his decision to take part in the Channel 4 show, in which he was one of six residents followed around by the TV cameras.
“If I could take it all back I think I probably would,” he said.
Many viewers of the show sent cards and messages of condolence to Lee’s family on learning of his death.
Lee was believed to have been trying to get his life back together.
He told : "I’m in a much better place now. I was on anti-depressants when the cameras were here and my epilepsy is under control now.
"I’m just waiting for one more test and once I’ve got the all clear I’ll be straight back to work.
"I’ve worked all my life and I plan on getting back to it. If people think I want to sit on my backside on £45 a week, they are very wrong."
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