The "devastated" family of a "much-loved" man have spoken about his battles with bipolar disorder following his death.
Samuel Latham, 32, died under Southport Pier on Monday, October 24. His parents Sharon and Roger Latham have spoken of their "much-loved son's" battle with the condition.
Samuel, from Southport, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder aged 19 and had struggled in the months leading up to his death Lancs Live reports.
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His mum Sharon said: “He lived with us and he was very much loved. He just unfortunately had bipolar. Samuel was a support worker and he loved looking after people with dementia. He also looked after people with learning difficulties.
"He would take his guitar in and sing to them and he was a lovely guy. When he had a bipolar episode, he wasn’t a horrible person.
"He was struggling with whatever bipolar presents itself with. Samuel was a support worker and he loved looking after people with dementia. "He would take his guitar in and sing to them and he was a lovely guy.”
Samuel was the eldest of four siblings, including Jennifer, 30, Philip-John, 29, and Jessica, 27. His dad Roger said Samuel would sometimes stop taking his medication, as he was otherwise "fit and healthy", but this would trigger the return of his condition and it would take months for him to recover.
He said: "We are all devastated and in shock at what happened. He wrote contemporary music but he struggled when he had bipolar. Sometimes, he would think he didn’t need his medication as he was a fit and healthy young man, so then the bipolar would return.
"Bipolar affects everything - your financial situation, your friends, and you’re starting your old life all over again. In the end, I don’t think he wanted to carry on.
“As a care worker, he was such a caring young man, and we have heard some lovely stories about what he enjoyed doing. He would write songs and sing them in local bars and that’s where a lot of people met him."
A funeral service for Samuel will be held at Scarisbrick New Road Baptist Church in Southport on Thursday, November 17 at 11am, followed by his interment at Duke Street Cemetery. A JustGiving page has been set up by former colleague Jennifer Conroy and has raised over £5,000 to help towards funeral costs.
For anyone struggling with Bipolar disorder more information can be found here.
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