A GRIEVING father told an inquest how a neighbour found the body of his son hanging from a rope in his garage.

Anthony Wayne Stanworth, 37, could have been dead for 24 hours before he was discovered last Monday, July 29, at Sellars Fold Farm, Hapton, according to a police surgeon.

And father Victor believes his son, a registered drug addict, killed himself because he could no longer fight his addiction.

Pathologist Dr W D Salman confirmed Anthony had morphine present in his urine, a small amount of alcohol and a therapeutic level of methadone, a heroin substitute, in his blood, but gave the cause of death as hanging.

His girlfriend Mrs Debbie Whittle, of Stockbridge Road, Padiham, said: "He had been changing over the last four weeks and I didn't realise why. I realise now he was probably taking it again.

"We have known each other for 20 years and have had a relationship on and off. He moved in in May this year and at that time he was taking methadone on a daily basis. "During his heroin addiction days I never had much contact with him. Things came to a head on the Friday when we were discussing him coming round.

"He came to see me on Saturday and I gave him money and he rang me and said he was coming down after tea. I never saw him again." Mr Stanworth told an earlier inquest his son came to stay at their farm on the Friday after saying he had a row with his girlfriend.

He last saw his son on Saturday night when his wife heard what she believed to be a car driving away and found the back door open and a half bottle of brandy had been consumed.

Rodney Rothwell, the Stanworth's next-door neighbour, said he thought he could see someone inside Mr Stanworth's garage and went to investigate which is when he discovered Tony's body.

Mr Stanworth had tried to end his life twice before and East Lancashire coroner David Smith recorded a verdict that he killed himself while depressed.

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