OIL rig worker Sheldon Parkinson was found hanging from a tree in a field at the bottom of his Whalley garden, an inquest heard.

The 45-year-old drilling engineer, who had displayed "bizarre" behaviour in the weeks before his death, had wrapped cling-film round his head before apparently kicking away step ladders, the hearing was told.

Police called in by Mr Parkinson's concerned wife, Anne, discovered his body as they set off from the couple's home in Broad Lane to begin a dawn search.

Mrs Parkinson told the inquest that her husband of 10 years had problems at work because he was being held responsible for damage to a multi-million-dollar piece of drilling equipment.

She also discovered that he had taken out a number of loans, and, as a result of substantial debt, they had been forced to put the family home up for sale.

She said that Mr Parkinson had been very possessive and this had got worse.

"He didn't like me to have friends, he didn't want me to work and he stopped me from going to college," said Mrs Parkinson.

"He worked away from home such a lot that when he was home he wanted me with him.

"In the last six or seven months this aspect of his personality was much worse and he became very demanding."

Mrs Parkinson told her husband that she was not prepared to accept his behaviour but he did not react well. Shortly before his death on April 7 he suggested that Mrs Parkinson needed psychiatric treatment and at that stage she said she thought a period of separation would be beneficial.

The week before his death Mr Parkinson started leaving the house without explanation for hours on end and during the week he told his wife that he had attempted suicide by connecting a pipe to the exhaust of his car.

The inquest was told that the evening before his body was discovered Mr Parkinson started drinking whisky, which Mrs Parkinson said was unusual. At 8.30pm she heard a tape recording of her own voice involved in a telephone conversation, the inquest was told.

"He had put some kind of bug on the telephone and taped my conversation," said Mrs Parkinson.

"He said he wanted to hear what I really thought of him. He had shut himself in the bathroom to play it and the children heard and asked what daddy was doing."

Mrs Parkinson said she phoned her sister but when she told her husband he drove off at about 11.15pm. The family looked for him during the night and his car was eventually found near a sports ground. The police were called and were on their way to search buildings near where the car was found when they spotted his body hanging from a tree.

Deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton said Mr Parkinson had exhibited bizarre behaviour in the weeks leading up to his death. "Given the lengths he went to I can only conclude that this must be a case of suicide," she added.