FORMER company director Duncan Liddle took his life the day after appearing ‘very upset’ during a conversation with a close friend and neighbour, an inquest heard last week.

Mr Liddle, of The Clydesdales, Dymock, was found dead from carbon monoxide toxicity in his bedroom on May 11 last year, the Gloucester inquest was told.

He had used the exhaust fumes from his car outside his home to end his life, the assistant Gloucestershire Coroner Roland Wooderson said.

Mr Wooderson recorded a conclusion of death by suicide.

In a statement Mr Nicholas Fairburn, a friend of the 65-year-old, said he saw him on May 10 when he was clearly ‘very upset.’

“He found difficulty in speaking,” stated Mr Fairburn. “There were long pauses in his sentences.

“I asked him about his immediate plans for the next few weeks and he told me he didn’t have any.

“I asked him to think about where he would like to live in the country when he had to move.

“He left my address after about an hour and said he would contact me to tell me how he had got on with the estate agent.”

Mr Fairburn said he was out shopping in Ledbury the following day when he got a call from a neighbour who was distressed and told him she could see pipes running from the exhaist of Mr Liddle’s car into his house. He told her to call the police.

“I arrived at his address at 11am. Patricia Johnson (next door neighbour) was on the drive, visibly upset.

“I went to the front door of his house and pushed the front door open.

‘‘The house was filled with fumes. I went upstairs and saw a bag and a note.

“I immediately suspected it was a suicide note. All the doors upstairs were closed except one. I entered that room and he was in bed.

“He was not responsive. I shook him but it appeared he was deceased.”

A post mortem examination conducted on May 23 by pathologist Dr Terry Jones found death was due to carbon monoxide toxicity.

Detective Sgt Gareth Morgan said he found a suicide note in the lounge of Mr Liddle’s home. It gave clear evidence of suicidal ideation, he stated.

“There was also another hand written note which again was evidence of suicidal ideation.”

The officer said there were also leaflets from Sunflower Suicide Support, the Stroud-based charity which helps people bereaved by suicide.

Recording a suicide conclusion, the assistant coroner said he was able to rule out any third party involvement and Mr Liddle had clearly planned what he did.

“Sadly, the inexorable conclusion is suicide,” he added.”