A PRISON officer was found hanging after police forced their way into his home.

Thirty-two-year-old Neil Matthews had also taken enough paracetamol and ibuprofen to end his life if they had been left to take their course.

Worcestershire Coroner Victor Round told an inquest held in Kidderminster yesterday that Mr Matthews was last seen on Thursday, November 1, by his estranged wife.

He failed to pick up their son from school on the Friday and was discovered dead on Saturday, November 3.

The inquest heard Mr Matthews had recently separated from his wife and was living with his parents in Kidderminster Road, Bromsgrove, while divorce proceedings were carried out.

"Police forced their way into the house on the Saturday," said Mr Round.

"They found him hanging from the loft hatch by a pair of boot laces tied together.

"He'd left a note, signed and dated, on the kitchen table."

Mr Round said tests revealed Mr Matthews had levels of 91mg of paracetamol per litre of blood and 106mg of ibuprofen per litre.

"The combination probably would have been fatal on its own, given time," said Mr Round, who recorded a verdict that Mr Matthews had taken his own life.