THE parents of a man who died hours after he was restrained by police hope a lengthy inquest into his death will provide them with answers.

Company director Douglas Oak, 35, came into contact with officers from Dorset Police during the afternoon of April 11 2017. It was reported at that time that he had been 'behaving erratically' and walking in and out of traffic.

PCs suspected he was suffering from a medical episode known as acute behavioural disturbance, or ABD, and called for an ambulance.

Mr Oak was then allegedly restrained by police officers for a period of time. It is claimed he suffered a cardiac arrest before paramedics arrived.

Mr Oak was taken by ambulance to Poole Hospital and admitted to the critical care unit. He died the following morning.

An inquest is due to take place into Mr Oak's death at the coroner's court in Bournemouth from Monday.

His parents John and Christine have instructed specialist lawyers from Irwin Mitchell and Garden Court Chambers to represent them at the inquest.

John Oak said: “Losing Douglas has been unbearable for our family.

"He was a loving and deeply loved son, brother, brother-in-law, uncle and friend.

"This world is far worse off without our lovely son. He was truly one of a kind.

“We know it will be tough for us all to have to relive what Douglas went through, but we hope that the inquest will bring us the answers we need.”

Gus Silverman, a civil liberties lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Mr and Mrs Oak, said: “Any death following police restraint is of course a matter which needs to be investigated thoroughly.

"This hearing will be an important opportunity for all the agencies involved to reflect on the circumstances in which Douglas died."

Anita Sharma, senior caseworker at charity INQUEST, said: “INQUEST sees a significant number of deaths following police restraint.

"This inquest serves a twofold function; to investigate the circumstances of Douglas’ death and to consider whether there is a risk of future deaths occurring. It is imperative that any such risks which the inquest identifies are responded to at a local and national level.”

The inquest is expected to last for a month.