William Chapman: Tiger attack victim's neighbour noticed two changes in him before tragic death

William Chapman: Tiger attack victim's neighbour noticed two changes in him before tragic death Former child actor William Chapman's neighbour has paid tribute after fresh details of the attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park emerged at an inquest opening A 24-year-old man who was mauled to death by a tiger after climbing into its enclosure at a wildlife park in Doncaster had become "very approachable" and "very friendly" in the months before his death, a neighbour has said. William Chapman was pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon after the tiger, named Altai, fatally attacked him at the Yorkshire zoo. An inquest opening held at Doncaster Coroner's Court today was told that Mr Chapman had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had suffered bouts of psychosis. This comes as his family previously said he "suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication". Mr Chapman lived in the centre of Doncaster and was under the care of mental health services, about which his family raised concerns prior to his death, the inquest opening heard. He lived independently in a one-bedroom, £120,000 flat on Waterdale, less than five miles away from the wildlife park. Josh Anderton, 24, who lived next door said Mr Chapman would spend time in 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]." The neighbour told the Mirror that Mr Chapman used to come into the pub and "struggle to speak to people". "He would come in and just linger and wouldn't speak," Mr Anderton said. But he said that had changed in recent months and had "become very approachable, very friendly". The child actor starred in the ITV production May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson, best known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, as well as playing Edward Jenner as a young boy in the BBC series True Stories. "He told me he used to be on a kids' TV show," Mr Anderton said. "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." Mr Anderton continued: "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. "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's death came as a shock to Mr Anderton and his partner. 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." The inquest opening heard Mr Chapman was under the care of Doncaster Mental Health Services, which is run by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH). Senior coroner for South Yorkshire East Nicola Mundy told the hearing the Trust has commissioned an independent patient safety investigation into the care received by Mr Chapman. She said: "During my communications with Mr Chapman's family they confirmed he had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had suffered previous bouts of psychosis and was under the care of Doncaster Mental Health Services. "Despite his diagnosis Mr Chapman was highly functioning and independent. His family have expressed a number of concerns in relation to his contact with mental health services leading up to his death." Previously, Mr Chapman's family said in a statement that he "suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication".