It is important that no stone is left unturned

There are very few incidents in South Yorkshire which have captured the nation’s attention as much as the fatal tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park last weekend.

In more recent times, the murder of 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose at a Sheffield school was one which sent shockwaves across the country.

The shocking murders of two young brothers by their parents in Shiregreen was also one of those tragedies which hit the headlines and resulted in news teams flocking to the Steel City.

As reporters, there are some stories you work on which you think are so horrific, that you can’t imagine anything ever shocking you and your readers as much.

But the death 24-year-old William Chapman last Saturday did just that.

It was so rare, unthinkable in fact, that it’s little surprise that news and camera crews from across the country made their way to South Yorkshire yesterday for the opening of the inquest into the death of the young man.

President Trump even drew attention to the tragedy earlier this week when he shared footage of William’s final moments - footage which the tragic young man’s family explained was causing extreme distress as they pleaded with social media users to stop sharing it.

Nevertheless Trump shared the very same footage to his 13 million followers, with the caption: "Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT".

Most of the articles in the aftermath of the fatal attack have centred around who William was, why he entered the tiger enclosure, was anyone or anything to blame...and what happens next.

What will this tragedy mean for such a popular family attraction and other zoos?

It feels like we are one step closer to getting some of those answers - but the full truth will not be known until the inquest is heard in full next March. It feels a long time away.

We did learn this week that William had a history of mental illness and a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

He had also suffered previous bouts of psychosis.

What I hope is that this puts an end to speculation that William had been at the park with carers and suggestions that he had somehow been failed on the day.

He went to the park alone that day.

The inquest heard he was “highly functioning and independent with no care requirements”.

Journalists who covered the inquest yesterday were told that William’s family was “finding things incredibly difficult” and had decided not to attend the hearing.

What they are going through must be horrific but coverage of the tragedy will continue.

What happened must never be allowed to happen again.

Inquests can result in ‘prevention of death’ reports to avoid such a thing.

Although some may question why so many articles have been written, it is important that no stone is left unturned - for William, his family and to protect visitors to zoos in the future.