A carpenter committed suicide as he feared his lifelong ambition of opening a restaurant had been shattered.

Alan Bedding, 54, of Clifton Drive, Westcliff, took his own life after realising he had run out of money to turn the dream into a reality, an inquest heard.

He was found hanging from a beam in the loft of a building in Station Road, Westcliff, which he had been turning into a restaurant.

Fellow carpenter and friend Colin Barden made the gruesome discovery on September 3 last year.

He told the inquest Mr Bedding had been depressed for a couple of weeks before he committed suicide as he was getting short of money.

Mr Barden said: "The restaurant was finished and he had the staff in place, but needed money to get the stock.

"It was his dream, I had worked with him for 20 years and he had always wanted a restaurant."

However Mr Barden added: "He never gave any suggestion that he was going to do this."

PC Gary Watts, of Leigh police, had been on patrol when he was called to the restaurant.

The officer found a suicide note in Mr Bedding's wallet, which was in his pocket.

Coroner Dr Peter Dean said: "It is clear from the note and the circumstances that Mr Bedding understood and intended his actions."

Verdict: Suicide.

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