A GRANDFATHER killed himself after debts to pay-day loan firms spiralled out of control, an inquest heard.

Ian Jordan had racked up more than £20,000 worth of debt to more than a dozen firms over the course of a year before he killed himself, Southampton Coroner’s Court was told.

In one case he was being charged more than 5,000 per cent per year in interest for the cash he had borrowed.

The case comes as the financial regulator announced plans for a cap on the amount that pay-day lenders can charge their customers.

Today Mr Jordan’s family urged the authorities to do more to halt the number of cash-strapped people falling into the debt trap.

They heard how it was not known how much money 60-year-old Mr Jordan had initially asked to borrow from the firms.

His daughter Samantha Carr said: “He was borrowing money to pay off debts [which was] to pay off debts.”

She added: “The interest rate is one thing, the fact that you have already got this debt was another. It just spiralled out of control.”

Poor health The court heard that Ian had been unemployed for years due to poor health and suffered with a hiatus hernia.

He was then taken off jobseekers allowance but the loan firms still continued to take the cash.

She said: “They were just taking it out of his bank account. He had no money in the last few days of his life.”

The coroner’s court heard he was found dead in his home in Tickner Close, Botley, a week after he was last seen by anyone.

The alarm had been raised by his doctor when he had missed several appointments.

He had written a note on his laptop which officers found when they entered his home.

After hearing how Ian had overdosed on painkillers, senior coroner for Southampton and the New Forest, Grahame Short recorded a verdict of suicide.

Mr Short said: “The note makes it clear that he wanted to end his life. I wasn’t aware of the level of his debt until today.”

Paying tribute to her father, who was also well known as a DJ at amateur dance competitions across the south coast, Samantha described him as the “life and soul of the party”.

But she said that her father’s tragic case showed how vital it was to clampdown on pay-day firms.

Samantha added: “Why do they still lend money to people when you have got debt?

“My main concern is to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

To express their outrage, the family created a video called “Merry Christmas Daddy pay day loans”.

It calls on the Government to cut the high interest rates enforced by firms.