A YOUNG man with a promising career 'died of shame' after racking up £30,000 of gambling debts, an inquest has heard.

Accountant Josh Jones leapt from the ninth-floor balcony of his office at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London last July aged just 23.

And now his devastated father, Martin is calling for a shake-up of the online gambling industry so that addicts can be permanently banned from placing bets.

Mr Jones, 63, a retired civil engineer from Blunsdon said his son's life had been torn apart by his addiction to online gambling.

A former Surrey University student, Josh had even spent his student loan on his gambling addiction.

In a statement to Southwark Coroners’ Court, Mr Jones said: “This is such a waste of a young life with a promising future in front of him.

“Josh was good looking and intelligent, and had a good job, but he was addicted to gambling. He died of shame. He took his life because of gambling. We miss him terribly.”

Mr Jones told the London Evening Standard that Josh was a “wonderful” young man, a talented hockey player who previously played for Swindon Hockey Club and a keen musician.

He revealed his son had started “taking out pay-day loans at silly interest rates” because his gambling was spiralling out of control.

Eventually his parents took control of his money, giving him “a drip-feed” of cash to live on.

But unknown to his mum and dad, he also continued to borrow from friends and banks.

Joshua confessed to his parents that at one time he had been lying on his bed shaking, desperately trying to resist the urge to place a bet.

When being treated for his addiction, he told health professionals his attitude was: “If I am in this deep, what does another pound matter?”

It is believed that he owed a total of £30,000 to banks, loan companies, family and friends.

But Joshua had given his family no indication that he had been suicidal, the inquest heard.

Mr Jones said: “He begged us not to tell PwC about his gambling.

“He led a double life. With his hockey and music friends he was the life and soul of the party. We and some close friends knew the truth.”

He said his son “would not admit defeat” and return to the family home to get his life back on track.

Mr Jones says gambling firms need to address the problems faced by addicts.

“There are some practical measures which could be adopted to reduce the possibility of another tragedy for another family,” he said.

“Betting firms and gambling websites could introduce the option for permanent exclusion from their sites, instead of time-limited exclusions.

“The industry could introduce effective cooperation to permit self-exclusion from one site to be applied to all sites.

“Pay-day lenders could adopt equivalent provisions for self-exclusion, instead of merely waiting for a borrower to default.

“How many more deaths are needed before gambling addiction is taken seriously?”

In a statement, PwC said: “Josh was a wonderful young man. Those colleagues who were fortunate enough to work alongside him feel a great loss.

"Our thoughts remain with his family and friends.”

Reaching a verdict of suicide, Deputy Coroner Shanta Deonarine said: “Joshua Jones suffered from a gambling addiction – he had a number of financial problems. I am sure that he took his own life.”

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