Elderly man hanged himself in Aldingbourne

Victor Burch, 81, had been given two blood transfusions after being diagnosed with a low red blood cell count, but he continued to feel unwell and complained of stomach and bowel problems.

Mr Burch, a retired builder of Hook Lane, was a fit and active man who enjoyed gardening and tending to his one-and-a-half acre vegetable patch.

At his inquest in Chichester last Wednesday, West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield was told when Mr Burch's daughters had not heard from their father they went to his home to check on him.

Coroner's office Helen Lawrence said the family discovered a note on Mr Burch's shed door.

A post mortem examination revealed he had died from hanging by the neck.

Mrs Schofield recorded a verdict that Mr Burch took his own life.

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