A YOUNG plasterer and father-to-be from Rossendale hanged himself after a row with his partner, an inquest heard.

But the girlfriend and family of Bradley Landers, 25, of East View, Bacup, are convinced that he did not mean to harm himself, Burnley Coroner’s Court was told.

The former All Saints College student’s partner, Hayley Muircroft, was five months pregnant at the time and the couple had been making plans for the new arrival, the hearing was told.

His father, Craig Landers, said: “He was a super lad. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. We all miss him.”

East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor asked whether problems with his business had been troubling him - but Mr Landers didn’t believe this was the case.

The inquest heard that, on the night of his death, Bradley Landers and Miss Muircroft, who had lived together for just under a year, had exchanged words before she went to sleep in their attic bedroom.

He said that he was ‘going for a walk’ but the next morning his body was discovered hanging in a weights room at their East View home.

Coroner Mr Taylor said the disagreement between the couple had not been significant and he believed the 25-year-old may have decided to hang himself, thinking he would be discovered by his partner before any serious injury occurred.

Craig Landers added: “I think you have hit the nail on the head. He was waiting for Hayley to come down and find him. I don’t think it is something he did on purpose.”

Miss Muircroft said: “I think he thought I would come down, and find him, give him some attention and we would make up.

“I don’t think he thought about the consequences of what he had done.”

Pathologist Dr Zuhir Twage confirmed that no drugs or alcohol were found in the deceased’s system and that the hanging had caused his death.

Coroner Mr Taylor, recording an accidental verdict, said: “He had a lot to live for but for some unknown reason, on the night of his death I believe, as Hayley has said, that he had no intention of ending his own life.

“That maybe he thought he could prove a point, that he would be found and that everything would be alright after that.”