A neighbour of tiger attack victim William Chapman has revealed how the 23-year-old had become increasingly friendly and approachable in the months before his death. Josh Anderton, 24, said Mr Chapman had previously struggled to speak to people at their local pub but had begun to "bridge connections" with those around him.
He said: "For the first year in the pub he would come in and he would struggle to speak to people. He would come in and just linger and wouldn't speak. But for the past six months he had become very approachable, very friendly." Mr Anderton said the young man had gone from someone he rarely saw to someone he encountered almost every day.
Neighbour recalls friendly encounters
Mr Anderton added: "He started to bridge connections and everyone at the pub used to get on with him. He'd go in regularly, he'd have a pint of orange juice or perhaps a pint of John Smiths. He was very responsible."
Mr Chapman died after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday, October 10. At the time of his death, he was living alone in a one-bedroom, £120,000 flat less than five miles from the wildlife park.
Mr Anderton moved in next door around four months ago and said Mr Chapman would spend time at the nearby Ballers Sports Bar. He said: "I knew William, I have been here about four to five months and William was already here. I knew him from work, he was a lovely, lovely man. He was absolutely harmless. He definitely struggled with [mental health problems]."
Memories of a child actor and F1 fan
Mr Anderton recalled Mr Chapman talking to him about his past as a child actor and his love of Formula One. He said: "He told me he used to be on a kids' TV show. We were walking to the bus stop and I was watching something on my phone when he said, 'Oh, I used to be on the TV'. He loved his Formula One. All he'd ever speak about was F1.
"I saw him about a week before [his death]. I went from not seeing him at all to seeing him daily. He used to hold the door open for my partner all the time. The last time I saw him he just seemed normal, he didn't seem out of his usual self. He lived alone, but I didn't go into his flat. He was a very individual person."
Inquest reveals details of death
Mr Anderton added he and his girlfriend initially had no idea that the person who had died at Yorkshire Wildlife Park was their neighbour. He said: "We had no idea what had happened we just knew someone had jumped into the tiger's enclosure. But then we saw his face on the news. Me and my missus had just woken up and we looked at each other and said, 'What the f***'. He seemed relatively stable-minded, so we never saw that coming."
An inquest into Mr Chapman's death was formally opened at Doncaster Coroner's Court on Thursday. The hearing was told he had a history of mental illness, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had suffered previous bouts of psychosis. Despite his diagnosis, Mr Chapman was described as "highly functioning and independent", with the hearing also told he "had no care requirements".
A post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Karzai gave a provisional cause of death as 1a multiple traumatic injuries and 1b animal interaction. The inquest heard Mr Chapman climbed two fences and entered the tiger enclosure at around 1.31pm before approaching the animal.
His family have raised concerns about his contact with mental health services leading up to his death, while Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust has commissioned a Patient Safety Incident Investigation into his contact with services. Doncaster City Council is also carrying out a health and safety investigation. The full inquest is scheduled for March 18, 2027.
