Ricky Hatton was greater than twice the drink drive restrict when he took his personal life in video games room of his residence after packing luggage for a Dubai flight the subsequent day, inquest hears

Boxing champion Ricky Hatton was more than twice the drink drive limit and ‘intoxicated’ with alcohol when he died, an inquest heard today.

The sports legend was found fully clothed in the games room of his £1.7million mansion in Hyde, Greater Manchester, on September 14 last year aged 46.

An empty bottle of wine was recovered by police from the pool table nearby and a half-drunk glass of wine was on the bar, Stockport Coroner’s Court was told.

A toxicology report found Mr Hatton was more than twice the drink drive limit, with 212mg of alcohol per 100ml blood, and there was ‘some evidence’ of cannabis use.

Although Mr Hatton was previously a user of cocaine and there was evidence of such ‘previous’ cocaine use in his system, the court heard there was no evidence he had taken the Class A drug on the night he died.

Pathologist Dr Neil Papworth, who carried out a post-mortem, found evidence of damage to Mr Hatton’s brain and a condition called mild Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which can be caused by repeated head impacts and is often found in boxers and other sportsmen and women involved in contact sports.

He said the progressive condition can cause memory loss and cognitive impairment and, the court heard Mr Hatton’s relatives had noticed a ‘significant decline in his short-term memory’ in recent years.

His son, Campbell, 24, who attended the hearing, said he felt his father often had to ‘write things down or needed reminding about what he was doing day to day’, including on the evening before his death.

Mr Hatton’s ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Dooley, 44, who is the mother of his two daughters, agreed that Mr Hatton could be ‘forgetful and disorganised’ and often needed help ‘managing plans and making arrangements’.

She said their children Fearne, 12, and Millie, 13, were struggling to come to terms with the ‘finality’ of their father’s death and regularly slept in his T-shirts, or with his pillows and ‘sprayed his aftershave.’

‘They are heartbroken,’ she said. ‘The absence of their father has left a devastating void in their lives, we have been left with a significant and lasting hole in our family.

‘Rick will always be remembered by his daughters as a fun loving dad and the memories they shared will stay with them forever.’

Campbell also told the hearing that Mr Hatton had already packed his bags in anticipation of a flight he was due to take the day after he took his own life.

Campbell said he did not believe his father’s decision to end his life was ‘pre-meditated’.

Mr Hatton had also made plans to visit his parents on his return from his trip to Dubai, where he was visiting to organise a comeback fight.

In a statement read to the court, Campbell described his father as a ‘happy laid back chap, except when it came to sport and competition’.

He said he lived life at 110 per cent, in and out of the ring, but added that, once he retired from boxing, Mr Hatton had ‘mental health battles’ and ‘issues with alcohol and cocaine’.

Campbell said he felt his father was in ‘best place for years’ but family members had noticed ‘significant decline in his short-term memory’ over the previous two years. This meant he ‘repeated things constantly’.

Campbell, who attended the hearing, added: ‘He was always generous with people who he loved being around, always extremely well-loved and cherished by all of us.’

Detective Sergeant Helen Grigalis, of Greater Manchester Police, told the court that Mr Hatton was last seen alive on the evening of September 14 when he took his two daughters and seven-year-old granddaughter, Lyla, out for dinner at a local restaurant.

He dropped the girls at their respective homes, before returning to his own property, where he lived alone, around 7.55pm.

Analysis of his mobile phone revealed that it was last used just after midnight to activate his Apple music account.

The following day, Mr Hatton was due to attend a boxing event, in nearby Bolton, but when a driver arrived to collect him, around 5.30pm, he got no answer from the intercom and calls to Mr Hatton’s mobile also went to voicemail.

The driver returned to the property a couple of hours later but again could not raise Mr Hatton.

Paul Speak, Mr Hatton’s long-time manager and agent, arrived the following morning, around 6.30am to take him to Manchester Airport for a flight to Dubai.

Mr Speak previously told Boxing News he assumed his friend had overslept when he could not raise him for the journey.

He said: ‘The lights weren’t on, which I thought was strange. I thought he’d overslept, it’s not unusual. People do oversleep.

‘So, I went inside – I have a key – shouting, ‘Rick, Rick, wake up!” heard music coming from upstairs, so I went upstairs. I took a look at him. I had to take some time to process.

‘I was in a state of shock and confusion and loss and many more emotions. Then I called the police and the ambulance.’

Earlier, in a statement to the inquest, Mr Hatton’s mother, Carol, said she last saw her son two days before his death.

They chatted about his son Campbell’s retirement from boxing, and about how he wanted to get advice from his father, Ray, 75, about his finances when he returned from his trip to Dubai, she said.

Mrs Hatton said his son’s eyes appeared ‘sad’ but as they parted she told him their ‘family loved him so much.’

She said: ‘He said, ‘I love you too mum,’ and the last hug he gave me almost broke my ribs.’

Mr Hatton’s family and friends were in court today, including Campbell, Ray, Hatton’s brother Matthew, 44, Ms Dooley and Mr Speak.

Mr Speak previously said Mr Hatton was ‘in a really good place’ before his death and had been preparing to take his daughters to see the band Oasis the following week. 

He also had plans to travel to Thailand for a boxing convention and to visit Tenerife for Christmas.

However, his main focus was in Dubai, where he was due to travel to sign a contract to take part in a come-back fight, in December, against Abu Dhabi’s Eisa Al Dah.

Following Mr Hatton’s death,  Campbell told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the family were struggling to comprehend what had happened.

Opening up about his grief, he said: ‘It has been very up and down, really, but just as a family, we’re trying to take each day at a time, really.’

Stars such as Liam Gallagher, Wayne Rooney and Tyson Fury were among those in the congregation for a private memorial service at Manchester Cathedral in October.

Nicknamed ‘the Hitman’, Hatton was an aggressive and brave fighter who held multiple world and UK titles between 1997 and 2012. 

The Mancunian was renowned for his 2005 victory over Kostya Tszyu, in his home town, which made him become a boxing legend overnight and won him an army of loyal fans.

Reflecting on the love shown for Ricky at his funeral, Campbell added: ‘He always said he was more proud of his fanbase than all the belts and his titles.

‘Surprised is probably the wrong word because it was obvious how much he was loved by the amount of people that followed him all over the world to watch him box.

‘To actually see everyone in the streets, it was a very long route that we went down, and there was never a point where the streets weren’t full. To actually see it in terms of the amount of people, it was surreal really.’

Tributes were shared by Campbell, who followed his father into the boxing ring, as well as his daughters Fearne, 12, and Millie, 13, at the service.

Last month Campbell, who retired from the sport last year, confirmed he would be stepping back into the ring as part of a tribute fight for his father when he takes on Kell Brook in Dubai next month.

His boxer cousins Jack and Lola – the children of Hatton’s brother Matthew – are also set to take part in the ‘Destiny in the Desert’ fight night.

Mr Hatton, who was awarded an MBE for services to sport in 2007, had spoken at length about his mental health struggles and how he’d suffered from suicidal thoughts and problems with addiction in the past.

However, shortly before his death friends believed he was in a better place and his final post on Instagram showed him keeping fit in the gym ahead of a highly anticipated return to the ring.

He was also filmed an uplifting video in his final week for a child who was the victim of bullying.

Mr Speak said: ‘If this was 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have been as big a shock as it was. I’ve been with Ricky to the very highest mountains in boxing to the lowest chasm in life.’

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