AN out-of-work electrician who committed suicide was struggling to pay his rent, an inquest heard.

Kevin Smith was found hanged in his flat, in West Street, Portchester, by his landlord but left no note to explain why he had taken his own life.

Police found nothing suspicious in the flat and a post- mortem examination revealed that there were no drugs or alcohol in Mr Smith’s system.

However, officers discovered that he had not worked for two years and had money worries.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the flat at 5.14pm on October 11 last year.

The 56-year-old died from oxygen starvation to the brain.

Landlord Robert Knight, with whom Mr Smith shared the flat and had known all his life, said Mr Smith had told him that he did not have October’s rent and it was the first time this had happened.

He described his flatmate in the inquest as a private, quiet person and said that he had given no clue to his state of mind, adding: “He took all his answers with him.”

Recording a verdict of suicide, Karen Harrold, assistant coroner for Portsmouth and south-east Hampshire, acknowledged the rent difficulties but said that it could not be determined if this was a factor in his death, and she did not think they would ever know why he took his own life.