Neighbour of man killed after jumping into tiger enclosure said he was 'lovely, lovely man'
A neighbour of William Chapman said he had changed in the past few months to become more sociable and 'very friendly'.
Chapman, 23, was killed by a tiger on Saturday (10 October) when he jumped into its enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and approached the animal, with it mauling him.
The emergency services were called but William was pronounced dead at the scene, it has been confirmed that the tiger will not be put down.
Speaking to the Mirror, William's neighbour Josh Anderton said he'd moved in next door a few months ago and found him to be a 'lovely, lovely man'.
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The neighbour said that while William 'definitely struggled' with mental health problems he was 'absolutely harmless' and changed over time to interact more with people.
Their flats were situated near the Ballers Sports Bar and Anderton said that William would often go in there, and while he initially didn't talk very much he became more sociable.
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."
Anderton said that William was a big fan of Formula One and it was 'all he'd ever speak about', also mentioning that 'he told me he used to be on a kids' TV show'.
That's true, as he'd been on the 2009 ITV show May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson and then in 2012 appeared in a BBC educational video for their True Stories series where he portrayed the young version of the scientist Edward Jenner.
The neighbour said they'd been walking to the bus stop and he'd been watching something on his phone when William had said 'oh, I used to be on TV'.
William's family said he had been a 'bright, warm and engaging' man, with them saying in a statement that he'd 'suffered significant mental illness' over the years and they 'dearly loved' him.
The family asked people to 'respect the process' of the coroner, with a hearing being told that William had been prescribed medication and been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
A full inquest will go ahead in March next year.
William's former school, the Jackie Palmer Stage School & Agency, offered their condolences to his family and said they had 'loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer'.
They said: "It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
"William will be truly missed, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, William."
Joe Harker