The family of a 27-year-old man who was due to study at the University of Manchester but tragically died have told of his long-term battle with mental illness - amid claims on Twitter that the university had left him in a 'hopeless situation'.
Rory Wood was sadly found dead on Tuesday after going missing on Sunday. His family believe he took the decision to end his own life.
In one of his last tweets, Rory, from Hereford, said that he had lost £1,000 that he had paid to the University of Manchester as a deposit ahead of starting a Master's degree in September. He said that he had not made enough money to fund the costs of the move or studying in the city and described how 'everything felt impossible and unliveable'.
READ MORE: University of Manchester issues statement over 'upsetting reports' of student applicant's death
Following the news of his death, a tweet was shared by friend Phoca Vitulina yesterday (Wednesday) morning, claiming that the university had rejected his application 'because he could not make living costs'. She claimed that the university 'did not give the £1,000 back'.
She claimed Rory 'died by suicide because of his absolute hopelessness of his situation'. In full, the tweet, which has now been shared thousands of times, said: "So Manchester University took an applicants £1k, rejected their application because they can’t make living costs, and didn’t give the money back.
"This applicant, a friend, then dies by suicide because of his absolute hopelessness of his situation. It’s absolutely scandalous."
Last night, a spokesperson for the Russell Group university, which is based on Oxford Road, said records showed Rory's application 'is still open' and was 'not rejected by the University'. They added in a statement that they could not find any record suggesting any request for a refund.
Now, Rory's brother Dan Wood has spoken to the Manchester Evening News in a bid to 'clear the air' after hundreds slated the university on social media. He also wanted to pay tribute to his brother and raise awareness of mental illness following his tragic death.
Dan said that Rory had been struggling with mental health issues for a long time. He said that as far as he was aware, there had not been any communication between his brother and the university about the deposit or about cancelling his place.
He added that he felt Rory had been angry about the costs of living and studying in Manchester, but that he 'loved the city'. He was also angry about the cost-of-living in general.
Dan said: "I think it's important to clear the air. Rory was suffering with mental illness for a long time and it has always been a struggle.
"He had completed his bachelor's degree at the Open University and found out last week that he got a 2:1. This was all about moving onto the next stage.
"I think he came to the conclusion that he was not ready to move away and go to Manchester and live by himself and support himself."
Dan added: "He had already been accepted to study at the University of Manchester and would have started in September. He had always been a very politically-engaged person and was quite an angry person.
"He was angry about the cost-of-living situation and he had been working part-time to fund moving to Manchester and was more angry about the price of having to plan all this rather than to do it. He was really excited to go to Manchester.
"He went to the open day and stayed over and he loved the city. He felt that this was something he wanted to do but he did not have the mental capacity to do it. That's the sad thing."
Dan said that Rory had mentioned to his mum about paying a deposit to the university, but had not clarified how much was paid or what exactly this was for. He added that Rory had always lived with his family and would have been able to get financial help if he needed it.
"I think from our perspective as far as we are aware the university has been supportive and we are not aware of any communication between Rory and the university about deposits or about cancelling his place, although the university's statement was probably not as clear as it could have been", he added.
Rory's brother addressed some of his last tweets, which said: "I lost one grand in a deposit to a university because, while I met the offer requirements, it became clear that I hadn't made nearly enough money to fund the living costs after two years saving in full time work. There were no university fees in this country until 1998 btw". He then posted: "Everything just feels impossible and unliveable".
Dan said he felt Rory used a persona on Twitter and added: "That last tweet he made he directed his anger to the university. I think from our perspective it is not the full truth, it is the image he wanted to portray."
Paying tribute to Rory, his family said: "Thank you for all of your love for our beautiful son, brother, nephew and cousin, Rory. We are completely humbled and overwhelmed by the messages of support on Twitter.
"We realise that there are people on here that truly loved him and the fact that he made your days just a little bit brighter brings a smile to our faces in these tragic times. Rory may not have mentioned it on here but he has always had loving and supportive friends and family that tried everything to help him but his battle with his brain sadly overcame him.
"We ask that Rory's legacy is the increased awareness of mental illness - please all look after yourselves and always remember to speak out. Rory completing his bachelors degree in politics, philosophy and economics last week was one of the proudest moments of our lives. We will never stop loving you Rory."
In full, the statement from the University of Manchester said: "We are very aware of the upsetting reports online about a student applicant and are looking into what has been said as a matter of urgency. Out of respect we are not commenting further as yet but, if confirmed, we extend our utmost sympathy.
"We can confirm that a place was successfully secured for a Master's at the University. According to our records this application is still open and wasn't withdrawn by the applicant and has not been rejected by the University.
"From our initial enquiries, we can find no record or email correspondence suggesting any request for a refund or further request for help."
The university added that they are 'investigating thoroughly' and that the issue would be further looked into.
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