A CORONER has called for better training for police and ambulance workers following the death of a man who was restrained by police in Poole.

Douglas Oak, 35, suffered a cardiac arrest and died the following day after being restrained with handcuffs and body straps during an incident in The Avenue on April 11 2017.

A Bournemouth inquest has been examining the circumstances of his death for five weeks and the inquest jury returned a narrative verdict.

Afterwards Dorset Coroner Rachael Griffin said she has "significant concerns" and it was revealed that Dorset Police paid undisclosed damages to Mr Oak's family while denying responsibility for his death.

Mrs Griffin said she would send a report to the health secretary suggesting training.

The inquest had been told Mr Oak was suffering from acute behavioural disturbance(ABD)and had taken cocaine.

Mr Oaks' parents, John and Christine, said after the inquest: "These past two-and-a-half years have been the worst of our lives, having to cope with losing Douglas and then going through it all again day after day at the inquest.

"We have sat in court and heard about gaps in training, the absence of de-escalation and calming techniques when officers first came into contact with our son, breakdowns in communication, and a failure to use medical equipment. While some of the officers on the ground tried their best they were let down by a system that wasn’t capable of ensuring our son got the help that he needed when he needed it.

"While nothing will bring Douglas back, we are pleased that the Coroner will be issuing a report highlighting the fact that the lack of national guidance regarding acute behaviour disturbance is putting lives at risk.

"We hope this report will lead to urgent changes; we know that Douglas would want this too, and would not want any other families to lose their loved ones in these circumstances.

"He is missed every single day and wish, with all our hearts, that he was still with us."

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation has been carried out in connection with Mr Oak's death.

It said: "Dorset Police officers were responding to reports of a man entering a vehicle. While searching the area, the officers received further calls reporting a man jumping over fences into gardens and running amongst traffic in Poole.

"As they drove along The Avenue, they saw a man, Douglas Oak, run in the road and narrowly avoid a bus.

"Mr Oak ran towards officers and jumped into the police car. He was removed from the vehicle and restrained using handcuffs.

"Officers suspected he was suffering from acute behavioural disturbance (ABD) and requested an ambulance via their own control room.

"The officers administered first aid prior to the arrival of the ambulance."

The inquest heard it was nearly an hour before an ambulance arrived at the scene. It had been requested through the police control room.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Oak died of "cocaine intoxication, excitement, exertion, restraint and hyperthermia with terminal bronchopneumonia", the hearing was told.

The IOPC report goes on: "Our investigation identified learning for three members of police call handling staff around their performance when handling the initial 999 call and the telephone contact between the police and ambulance control rooms.

"We interviewed members of the public and police officers who had witnessed the incident and obtained policies and procedures relating to ABD, restraint, use of force, and police call handler responsibilities.

"We found that any restraint by the officers at the scene was necessary and reasonable in the circumstances.

Regional Director Catrin Evans said: “My thoughts remain with Mr Oak’s family and friends.

"We found no indication that any person serving with Dorset Police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. Police officers who arrived at the scene correctly identified the need to treat Mr Oak as a medical emergency.

"Following the conclusion of our investigation, Dorset Police assured us there had been a collective effort to learn from Mr Oak’s death within the force control room around their procedures relating to ABD, and the need to give accurate information to ambulance service call handlers."