‘Loving and caring’ Sheffield barber Mr T was found dead above his barber shop

The body of Trevor Darien, who was known as Mr T, was found on July 9, 2018 above his barbers on City Road.

The dad-of-two ran the popular Mister T's barbers and was described by his sister Patricia Eschoe as a 'pillar of the community.'

She said: "He was very caring - not just for people that were directly related to him but for the wider community as well.

"The funeral really said it all. There were over 2,000 people at the funeral.

"He had a very outgoing personality and he loved to sing."

Ms Eschoe added how he had become popular in the city through his barbers.

She said: “He was very generous, he was a strong presence and he was a strong character.

“He was the pillar of the community in a lot of ways. He gave a lot of good advice and reprimanded those who were not following what he would assume was the correct path to follow.”

Ms Eschoe said he had a range of customers of different cultural backgrounds – from babies to pensioners – at the City Road shop.

In a report read to the court, his GP Dr Ruth Marsden said that Trevor was a heavy drinker.

Assistant Coroner Katy Dickinson heard how Trevor was detained under the Mental Health Act in 2007.

But Katy Hughes, a community mental health nurse at Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust, said he was released within days.

She said he did want to ‘engage’ with mental health services, but added: “He was very busy with life. He wanted to get back on with things and get back to normality, which is a good thing.”

PC Lindsey Allsop-Finner, who was called to Trevor’s flat on the night of his death by the ambulance service, said: “Once I had been there and looked around the room, I could see that there were no suspicious circumstances around Mr Darien’s death.”

The officer added his injuries were self-inflicted.

A post-mortem report said Trevor’s cause of death was heavy bleeding due to self-inflicted injuries.

Ms Dickinson said: “I have thought about the evidence I have heard today. I think the only conclusion that I can reach is a suicide conclusion.

"I know that's very difficult to take but on that evidence that’s the conclusion I am going to give.

“I am so sorry for your loss. He seemed like a wonderful man and I am sure he was very popular. He seemed like a very nice man.”

Speaking after the hearing, Trevor's nephew Reece said: “He really loved and cared for his family. He was a dad-of-two and an uncle of six and he really looked after his family.”???????

Samaritans can be contacted by calling 116 123.