A tree surgeon who took his own life left a note saying his mental health was "beyond recovery", an inquest has heard.

James Hindle was found hanged in woodland at Scragged Oak Road, Detling , on July 9 after he was reported missing by his concerned girlfriend.

The body of the 33-year-old, who studied arboriculture at the University of Brighton, was discovered at around 4pm after a police officer spotted his white Ford Transit van parked some 100m from the A249.

Paramedics were called but Mr Hindle, who was living at Montgomery Drive in Bognor Regis at the time of his death, was declared dead at the scene at 4.20pm.

The inquest, held on Wednesday afternoon at County Hall in Maidstone, heard that Mr Hindle - who grew up in Devon and had lived in Rochester before moving to Sussex - had suffered with poor mental health in 2017 following the death of his father.

On the day before his body was discovered, he had returned from work in London and spent time with a colleague in Rochester until around 4pm.

DS Andrew Burgess, who investigated the death for Kent Police, told the inquest Mr Hindle had last spoken to his partner Claudia Carvalho at lunchtime on July 8.

"He did leave a note consistent with intending to end his life..."

When she was unable to reach him that evening her concern grew, and in the morning he did not meet his colleague for work as expected.

Ms Carvalho reported him missing to Kent Police at 8.38am. DS Burgess told the inquest she said "this was out of character and he had never gone missing before."

An extract of a note found in a pocket when his body was taken down was read to the hearing. "I am truly sorry for this but my mental health has gone beyond recovery," he had written.

There was no evidence to suggest Mr Hindle's death was suspicious, and a post mortem investigation confirmed the cause of death as hanging.

Returning a verdict of suicide, assistant coroner Catherine Wood said: "He did leave a note consistent with intending to end his life."

Ms Wood described Mr Hindle as "a well-loved young man" and expressed her condolences to his friends and family.

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