A man from Breage who killed himself had previously talked to his estranged wife about how easy it would be to end his own life, an inquest heard.

Kenneth Dowe, 49, was found dead in a caravan in his garden at Gilberts Row in Carleen, on the evening of May 28, having asphyxiated himself using exhaust fumes.

The court heard from his widow, Sarah Dowe, that the couple had separated earlier in the year, although they were still close and he had visited her for several days around Mothers’ Day.

She said that part of the reason she had left was due to his anger, and the fact that he wanted her to stay at home rather than work.

She called him a “lovely person who was working all the time”, and “good with his hands,” and said that although she felt she needed to support the family “he wanted to do it all.” She added: “He wanted to look after me and Ryan [his stepson].”

Mrs Dowe told the inquest that she did not want to leave. She said: “We had chats. I said you need to sort yourself out. He said he didn’t want help.”

The inquest also heard a report from Mr Dowe’s GP, Dr Fairlie, who said Mr Dowe had no ongoing serious medical problems, but his medical records did include one case of “self poisoning” in 1996 when he had taken an overdose of painkillers.

However, the doctor said there was no sign of any inclination for him to make another attempt since.

Mrs Dowe said: “I had a feeling he might do it.

“He told me about the past and how easy it would be. But I didn’t expect him to do it. He could have got help, like I did.”

Mr Dowe’s sister-in-law, Louise Rowe, married to his brother Peter, said that in the few days before he died Mr Rowe was “increasingly agitated and couldn’t settle.”

She said: “Things like walking the dogs, coming back and walking the dogs again: being very, very agitated.”

Talking about the end of his relationship, she said: “It was clear that he was very upset. He wasn’t somebody who wanted to live on his own.

“He was very upset by the ending of his relationship. It was clear that that was a problem but I think that we might have put the worry to the back of our minds.

“We tried to make sure the family were there for him.”

When asked about an empty vodka bottle that had been found with Mr Rowe’s body, she said she had just taken it as “Dutch courage”, and a post-mortem report showed his blood alcohol level to be 95 micrograms per 100 millilitres, over the drink-drive limit.

DC Simon Rafferty of Falmouth police said that on the basis of notes found in Mr Dowe’s garage he believed he had intended to end his life, that it was not a cry for help, and that all other avenues had been discounted, including the involvement of any third party.

Recording a verdict of suicide caused by inhalation of carbon monoxide, assistant coroner Barrie van den Berg said: “The reason for it was he couldn’t deal with the breakdown of his relationship. Some times, sadly, that’s the case.

“As so often it’s just a combination of things.