Barton man Ewan Brown took his own life, inquest at Winchester Coroners' Court hears

A BARTON man who drank excessively took his own life despite efforts by his friends for him to seek professional help, an inquest heard.

The body of Ewan Brown (51) was found at his home in Wavendon Avenue on 16th February this year.

Winchester Coroners' Court heard how his friend and former colleague Jason Crane had called at the property, but knew something was wrong when he found the door deadlocked.

Ewan had also made "a concious attempt" to cover glass panels of a door, he said.

Police attended and confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances.

The inquest heard from another friend, Kevin Moore, who said the pair had worked together at the Ministry of Defence in the 1990s.

He said: "Ewan kept his drinking under wraps and was functioning well – he really enjoyed his time at the Ministry of Defence."

However, the inquest heard his drinking became worse, and he chose to go to work with his family instead.

Mr Moore added: "It was a case of if he had not left, he would have been pushed due to his alcoholism. He was a troubled soul."

Ewan was "very proud" of his time within the organisation and Mr Moore said if he had been able to get sober he could have returned.

In later years, after moving to Barton, he worked for a ferry company and a removals firm.

Ewan's parents had died within one year of each other, which saw him deteriorate further.

Despite efforts from his friends to get him seen by organisations, including mental health services, Ewan would not engage with them.

Mr Moore added: "You can only help someone as much as they want to be helped."

Ewan had been drinking between one and two bottles of wine per day in addition to spirits but it was not known what had caused him to drink from an early age, the inquest heard.

A post-mortem examination gave his cause of death as hanging. Ewan had also been suffering from chronic lung disease.

Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp recorded a verdict of suicide.

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