A MAN spurned by a Herefordshire woman shot himself after she refused to answer his marriage proposal until she had tried sex with another suitor.

Gareth Keatley had proposed to divorced mum-of-three Susan Sutton, who lived in Bosbury, near Ledbury, but also had another man.

A Gloucester inquest heard the 51-year-old could not stand the emotional tug-of-war any longer.

He stole a friend's double-barrelled shotgun and killed himself at his Gloucester home, surrounded by pictures of happier days with Mrs Sutton.

Before shooting himself dead on Tuesday, April 16, bachelor Keatley rang her home three times while she was out.

Final message

"I couldn't have tried any harder, could I? I am glad you are happy with him. I just wish you had given me a second chance," he said in his final message.

Mrs Sutton arrived home 15 minutes later and called 999 as she feared something was wrong.

She rushed to his house where she saw an ambulance leaving with Mr Keatley's body.

In a statement she said she had had an on-off relationship with Mr Keatley and during one break she met "John". She said she was stunned with Mr Keatley's marriage proposal.

"He said he wanted me more than anything else he had wanted in his life," she said.

"John was also proposing marriage and I was finding it very difficult to know what I felt for each of them."

She had arranged to give him an answer on Monday, April 15, but could not make it.

Mr Keatley called her the next day and broke down crying.

Nigel Keatley said his brother had told him of Mrs Sutton's new boyfriend.

"Gareth told me she wanted to sleep with John before she could make up her mind about which man she wanted," he said.

"He was in a very distressed state about this."

The inquest heard Mr Keatley was found lying dead on the kitchen floor with a double-barrelled shotgun nearby.

A verdict of suicide was recorded.