A MAN suffocated while he was wearing a gas mask and was suspended from his ceiling by bondage equipment.

Richard Farrah-Mills, aged 36, of Old Street, in Upton-upon-Severn, was discovered wearing the mask and hanging from the ceiling of his flat by rope and a leather belt.

A friend, David Curtin, found the body on Tuesday, April 13, removed the gas mask and called the emergency services. Mr Farrah-Mills was pronounced dead the same day.

Worcestershire County Coroner Victor Round yesterday revealed the lorry driver, lost consciousness while hanging and was then suffocated by his harness.

The inquest heard that alcohol was not a factor in the accident, but traces of butyl nitrate - a drug often used as a muscle relaxant and to heighten orgasms - were found in the body.

Mr Round said the use of such a drug could have "precipitated" the fatal loss of consciousness.

"There was information that the gas mask was used in conjunction with butyl nitrate," he said, reading a report from investigating officer Det Sgt Tony Stead.

"There's no reason to suspect any third person involvement or any suspicious circumstances. There's every reason to conclude that the situation was intended to be reversible."

Mr Round recorded a verdict of accidental death at Worcestershire County Coroners Court.

Before the inquest neighbours of Mr Farrah-Mills described him as a friendly, but quiet man, who "kept himself to himself".

"I used to say 'hello' to him when I saw him, but never much more than that," said Betty Williams, a resident of Old Street, and ex-chairman of Malvern Hills District Council.

"He was a very quiet man, friendly, but he didn't make close friends with people here."

The owner of Ye Olde Upton Delicatessen, in Old Street, who did not want to be named, said Mr Farrah-Mills had lived on his own above the opticians Value Vision.

"He came in every Saturday for some cheese but I never really got to know him.

"He was a skinhead and was always clad in leather, but he was a lovely chap. It is a real shame."