A mother has called for more funding towards mental health support after her son died while suffering with severe mental health difficulties.

Robert Marney, 36, was a talented artist, having studied fine art and silk screen printing at Camberwell College of Arts.

He tragically died after being hit by a train on Tuesday, February 13, and his mother, Brenda Francis, and sister, Sarah Francis, have blamed a lack of NHS funding for mental health support.

Miss Francis, an NHS medical secretary, said: “He developed cannabis- induced psychosis and thankfully for me he came home.

“In September 2016 he was really bad, We spent 19 hours in Broomfield Hospital waiting for the mental health team.

“He was mad. He wasn’t aggressive, but nobody knew that. He was a big lad and was wandering around trying to get out of A&E, but he was finally sectioned.

“There were old ladies and families there, it was so unfair that none of the nurses could help, all they could do was send for security which was what his psychosis was all about.”

Mr Marney, who attempted to take his life three times, spent time in the Linden Centre, The Gables and The Priory Hospital.

He returned home to live with his mother in High Street, Kelvedon, but his family say he received little support during this time, having a 30-minute visit from a health professional once every three weeks.

Miss Francis said: “It shocked me, even as an employee of the NHS, how little help there is.

“It’s becoming an epidemic, there is just no help.

It’s a sad situation and it’s ended in tragedy.

“It’s a lack of funds, we understand that, but there was nothing – no help.”

Mr Marney’s death comes after the publication of a report which shows mental health care providers continue to receive far smaller budget increases than hospitals - despite ministers pledging a ‘parity of esteem’ between NHS mental and physical health services.

The Kings Fund report has sparked concern mental health patients are receiving poorer quality care because of the widening gap in income.

Budgets of NHS mental health trusts in England rose by less than 2.5 per cent in 2016-17 - far less than the 6 per cent boost received by acute trusts and those providing specialist care.

NHS England said mental health funding rose in 2016-17 by 6.3 per cent to £9.7 billion, compared with a smaller increase – of just 3.7 per cent – in other parts of the health budget.

Mental health also received a slightly larger share of overall CCG spending, at 13.6 per cent.