A FAMILY accused of harassing a man who went on to stab himself to death today said they looked on him as a friend.

A hearing in Blackburn was told that Mark Smale, whose body was found in a pool of blood at his Richmond House home in Accrington, had been bombarded with telephone calls from family members of Jeanette McKenna, demanding the return of a set of keys.

The inquest also heard evidence from Mark's support worker who said attentions from the family had deeply troubled him.

Pregnant Jeanette, of The Copse, Accrington, died while in labour as she drove along Shadsworth Road, Blackburn, on her way to hospital on New Years Eve.

But today her sister Marian Broughton, of Sandy Lane, Accrington, said the news had come as a terrible shock and that Mark had been a good friend of Jeanette.

She said: "This is terribly sad for the family. It is tragic and a shock.

"We have been in touch with the police about this situation.

"He was a good friend and this is really upsetting. He was never anything else.

"Jeanette would be distressed if she heard this carry on. Mark was a kind friend and the McKenna family liked the guy."

The inquest into Mark's death was told that prior to her death, Jeanette McKenna had asked Mark, 38, to get her a "shooter" so she could shoot her husband who had been beating her up.

Deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton recorded a verdict that Mark killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed and the evidence showed that he had become troubled.

Mark's mum, Marion Smale, of Willows Lane, Accrington, said he had seemed deeply depressed three days before his death.

She said Mark -- who lived in flats run and staffed by the Carr-Gomm Society, a national charity which provides housing and other support to people with mental health problems or learning disabilities -- had met Jeanette McKenna when they were both receiving treatment in Queens Park Hospital psychiatric unit.