A Wrexham police officer died just hours after telling his parents that a relationship was over.

An inquest in Ruthin heard that PC Ryan Donaldson, who joined North Wales Police in 2018 and was serving in the Wrexham rural division, had suffered from depression for a couple of years.

In a statement read at the hearing, a Dr Helen Moon said that on the afternoon of December 11, 2022, she and her husband Stephen were crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct above the River Dee when they saw a man sitting on the railings with his legs dangling over the edge. A few seconds later he pushed himself off.

The couple thought he had landed in the river but then saw that he had fallen onto a path.

Sergeant Joseph Dunne said that he found a police warrant card in his pocket before realising it was PC Donaldson, whom he knew.

Consultant pathologist Dr Mark Atkinson gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.

The officer’s mother, Linda Donaldson, with whom he lived in St Giles Crescent, Wrexham, said he told her that morning that his relationship was at an end. He later said he was going for a walk.

The inquest heard that PC Donaldson texted his former girlfriend to say: “I just can’t be bothered anymore.”

In texts to members of his family, the 31-year-old also said: “Sorry for what I am about to do.”

At the time of his death, his family described him as “a much-loved son and brother who will be greatly missed.

“He was extremely proud to serve with North Wales Police. He loved being a police officer and his family were all very proud of what he had achieved.”

PC Donaldson, who was originally from Buckley, was said to have enjoyed socialising with friends from the town and his rota colleagues.

Recording a conclusion of suicide, John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, told the officer’s sister Cara: “To describe it as a tragedy is inadequate.

“Clearly, he had struggled for years but provided a valuable service as a police officer. It is a massive loss to his family and everybody.”