Man hanged himself after failing to save his marriage

The remains of Frank Hare, 62, were found suspended by a rope from the Hull Bridge, at Tickton, on September 21, 2009.

An inquest in Hull heard that the father of four's marriage had been in trouble for some years and he and his wife were effectively living separate lives under the same roof.

In a statement his wife of 37 years, Sandra, said that although he got on with his children and was highly thought of at work, he was "snappy" with her.

But when she returned home to Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire, from a holiday with her sister on September 1, her husband, who worked at Hull Prison as a handyman, was a "completely new person".

She said: "He was really nice. It was such a massive change

I was almost frightened as I didn't know why he was acting like that."

She found it hard to understand the sudden change. She went away to Blackpool with the family for a day on September 12 and he texted her to ask why she had left without saying goodbye. She explained that she hadn't wanted to wake him.

The conversation ended with Mr Hare saying: "You go your way, I'll go mine", which was the kind of statement he'd made before.

When they returned home they found he'd taken an overdose of sleeping tablets, but he recovered in hospital.

Mr Hare went missing on the night of September 20 after giving his father-in-law a lift home to Beverley, but when his son called him at 11.30pm he said he was helping a motorist "and sounded chirpy".

Coroner Geoffrey Saul said Mr Hare had told a mental health nurse that the overdose had been a deliberate act, but was remorseful because of the impact on his family. He said he was satisfied he intended to take his own life.