MICHAEL Francis Redmond hanged himself on Millennium night following the break-up of his 14-year romance with childhood sweetheart Catherine Caton, an inquest heard.

The hearing was told that Mr Redmond had been unable to come to terms with the fact that Miss Caton had finished with him. And family and friends told how his mood deteriorated over the Christmas period, culminating in the tragic end to his life.

Mr Redmond, 28, was found by his mother, Helen, at his home in Rosehill Terrace, Guide, on New Year's Day. He had a pillowcase over his head and was hanging from a scarf which had been tied round his neck and round a metal bannister spindle.

Mrs Redmond said Michael had met Catherine while they were both at school and they had moved in together when he was 23. They were due to marry in 1997 but had made a joint decision not to. In November, the couple split up and Catherine moved out.

Mrs Redmond described how Michael had seemed down during the final week of his life. He had been with family on Christmas Day and had told how he expected Catherine to telephone. When she did not, he became visibly upset.

His sister, Joanne Hoole, said she could tell Michael was upset because it was the first Christmas in a long time he had spent without Catherine. When she did not call, Michael began to cry 'inconsolably' and when he was leaving he told Mrs Hoole: "I'm a dead man walking." Miss Caton, a governor support officer, told the inquest she had met Michael, sales manager with RGS Electro-Pneumatics Ltd, of Accrington, when she was 14 and they were at school together.

She said she had left their home in the summer of 1997, knowing she would return, and again in March of 1999. She said the problem was Michael's temper, which he would lose if anything went wrong.

When she left in November, Miss Caton told Joanne Hoole that she no longer loved Michael. She told the inquest that when she went back to their home to collect some clothes Michael was so angry she had to call the police.

Mr Redmond repeatedly asked Miss Caton to return, but she kept telling him she would not go back. She said that on two or three occasions he said he would kill himself, but she did not take him seriously.

Mrs Redmond told the inquest that she thought Michael had struggled with life during the final week. "His tragic death has come as a great shock to us all," she added.

The medical cause of death was given as hanging and deputy coroner John Birch, recorded a verdict that Mr Redmond killed himself.

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