Tributes have been paid to an Oswestry fundraiser whose colourful life had seen him flee Robert Mugabe's regime and test security in Dubai, after a court ruled his death was a suicide.

Roger Whitting was described at his inquest on Thursday (February 15) as a popular resident who devoted himself to helping others through his charity work after leading an extraordinary life.

“He worked with the local rotary club, the Oswestry Cambrian club, did work with the local British legion,” said friend Michael Lade.

“He loved Christmas and working with the league of friends at the orthopaedic hospital – so much so a t-shirt from the league of friends was placed on his coffin in his honour.”

In the hearing deputy coroner Heath Westerman said Roger was “clearly a very valued member of Oswestry.”

Roger was found dead at his Oswestry home after alerting the police so that his carers would not have to find him.

At the inquest concerns were raised by family members about the role benefit changes had in his death.

His younger brother, Andrew Whitting, said Roger, who was a tetraplegic and used an electric wheelchair, had been told there would be changes to his benefits and was not due to have a meeting to resolve it for four to five weeks.

“It would have been a insurmountable task to pay his carers, he would not have been able to get out and fund the charity work he was doing,” said Andrew Whitting. “There was a lack of help from social services or the county.

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“Only a letter saying he would have a meeting in four to five weeks - he would have run out of money in a week.

“This left a man with limited movement. Previously they had audited him, forced him to produce bank statements.”

The court had also heard that Roger had suffered from depression over a long period of time.

Mr Westerman said that the court could was unable to place a judgement as to why a person died, but ruled the death was a suicide.

After the hearing, friends and family spoke of the incredible life Roger had led. At the age of 20 he moved to what was then Rhodesia to work as a farm manager – something he excelled at.

“He was responsible for about a third of chicken farming across the country,” said brother Andrew.

“He had to leave after Mugabe came to power, they had to be armed with automatic weapons all the time eventually drove his family 2,000 miles to cross the border into South Africa.”

After this Roger, despite being dyslexic, got involved in security and electronic systems.

“This eventually led him to working in Dubai during the building boom,” said Andrew. “ He was part of something called Tiger Teams, which would test security by breaking into it.”

When there was an economic collapse he and many others were put in prison.

“You could be put in prison for not paying a phone bill immediately so he ended up in jail,” added Andrew.

“A fellow Brit was murdered in a neighbouring cell. Eventually he managed to get out and borrowed a friends passport. He snuck into the airport driving behind two trucks and left the country with only a passport and a change of clothes.”

Many years later Roger was living in Thailand when he had a scooter accident, with his head and neck hitting the pavement - an event that left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

He returned to the UK, settling in Oswestry, where he raised money for local causes and made his home disability friendly. 

“All his adaptations were things he put together such as voice control, ingenious bits of string and pulleys,” added Mr Lade. “He ended up giving advice to the RJAH about how best to set up a home for someone with his condition.”

Helplines

If you would like any help with bereavement, loss or mental wellbeing, here are some helpline numbers

  • You can call the Samaritans on 116 123
  • Papyrus Hopeline on 0800 068 4141
  • Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) on 0800 58 58 58
  • Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) 0300 111 5065 uksobs.org