A 43-YEAR-OLD man killed himself by covering his mouth and nose with a surgical mask attached to a cylinder of "balloon gas," an inquest heard.
The hearing in Blackburn was told that Stephen Clucas died as a result of an air embolism caused by the inhalation of helium.
His body was found in his car parked in a remote lay-by on Pendle Hill just hours before he was due to appear in court in Blackpool to answer a charge of assaulting his partner.
The inquest heard that Mr Clucas, of Merlyn Road, Thornton Cleveleys, had left four notes in his car addressed to his father, Mr Albert Clucas, his daughters Wendy and Abigail, his partner Christine Hynes and his friend Stephen Hartley.
A vodka bottle was also found in the car and a post-mortem examination revealed a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal drink drive limit.
Coroner Michael Singleton recorded a verdict that Mr Clucas killed himself.
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