Family left devastated by loss of

THE family of a father found hanged hours after going missing have described him as a "kind, friendly and well-liked person".

Richard Smith's body was discovered in fields near Acorn Way, Chaddesden, by a woman walking her dog.

TOOK HIS OWN LIFE: Richard Smith found it hard to cope with two serious events in his life.

An inquest heard how the 42-year-old, who had three children and three stepchildren, struggled to cope with the death of his mother and the breakdown of his marriage.

Five years ago, he was also diagnosed with blood clots and his sister, Andrea, said he feared "going the same way" as their mother, who had deep-vein thrombosis.

Derby and South Derbyshire deputy coroner Louise Pinder recorded a verdict that he had taken his own life.

After the inquest at Derby Coroner's Court, Andrea, 45, said her brother was the person closest to her and losing him was "heartbreaking".

She said: "Richard was a very caring person and always put himself out for other people.

"He had such a carefree outlook on life and was the life and soul of the party."

The inquest heard how Mr Smith, of Chesterton Road, Spondon, stayed with friend Paul Ravenhill the night before he died.

Mr Ravenhill said: "I hadn't seen him for quite a while but we got back in touch through a mutual friend. Mentally, he was just not the same person.

"He told me that 98% of the time he was fine but for 2% of the time he had these dark moments."

Mr Smith, a former pupil at West Park School, Spondon, went to bed at 1am on Sunday, November 8, last year.

When Mr Ravenhill woke at 9am, his friend had left the house.

His body was found at 12.10pm, about a mile away.

Mr Ravenhill said: "I was concerned about Richard and I wanted him to stay with me.

"He seemed agitated in the daytime but better later on. We had lots of chats that evening and I felt I was getting through to him.

"It must have been a spontaneous decision that morning."

The court was told how Mr Smith, a supervisor at Markeaton Park, had tried to kill himself on four previous occasions since August.

He had been in consultation with the Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust and spent time at its Radbourne Unit at the Royal Derby Hospital.

But the weekend before he died, Mr Smith declined to see the trust's crisis team because he disliked seeing a different person each time, the inquest heard.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Shaun Gillespie, from the team, said: "Richard was a closed sort of chap and we never got to the bottom of what was concerning him."

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