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Father hanged himself after pension fell through

By Stephen Lloyd
January 25, 2013

A SELF-EMPLOYED window cleaner who threw himself from a canal bridge close to his Church Crookham home wrote a note saying "no work, no money, no pension, no future", an inquest has heard.

Raymond Hollingsworth was found hanging from Coxheath Bridge over the Basingstoke Canal by a dog walker on November 27 last year.

The father-of-two had taken out business loans after discovering his private pension scheme was not going to mature as planned, an inquest in Basingstoke heard on January 24.

North East Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley read a statement from Mr Hollingsworth's wife Linda, who chose not to attend the hearing.

She said her husband, a keen gardener who would run up to eight miles a day several times a week, was a family man who had shown no signs of being unhappy.

Mrs Hollingsworth added her husband had celebrated his 60th birthday on November 20 but that in the lead up to it he was a bit upset, saying he did not want to be 60.

The couple, who have a son Mark and daughter Ria, had been at home and watched television together the night before Mr Hollingsworth's body was found.

Mrs Hollingsworth said the following morning she thought her husband had gone to work and only learned this was not the case when police visited the family home after his body was found.

Police found keys and Mr Hollingsworth's passport when they searched his pockets. The note, signed by Mr Hollingsworth, was found inside the passport.

Mr Bradley recorded a verdict of suicide.

For more on this story, see next week's News & Mail, out on Thursday, January 31.

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