A 56-year-old man whose depression and anxiety was exacerbated by lockdown isolation, left letters for his family and put a note in the window of his home before taking his own life.

Derek Bailey was found dead on March 30, after his next door neighbour saw a note in his window which read "do not enter, phone the police".

The police were called and forced entry to his property and found Mr Bailey on the floor next to his bed surrounded by empty pill packets.

Two hand written notes had been left on the kitchen table.

At an inquest in Preston, Coroner James Newman said: "In the notes he clearly indicates an intention to take his own life and writes 'sorry I have had enough'."

A toxicology report found a high level of an anti-depressant in his system, and concluded that Mr Bailey died from an overdose.

In a letter from Mr Bailey's sister, Karen, she stated her brother, who had a long history of depression and anxiety, had travelled up to Scotland to see her on March 25, but became paranoid and worried as he thought he'd been caught by a speed camera.

Mr Newman continued: "In her letter, Karen Bailey says he also got lost on the way up and they spent the majority of the night trying to re-trace his movements.

"He woke up the next morning and was adamant he wanted to go back to England."

The inquest heard that Mr Bailey had suffered immensely when his father died in December, with his depression and anxiety only worsening during lockdown.

He would become frightened and bewildered at times, finding the isolation difficult to cope with.

On the morning of March 30, when Mr Bailey hadn't phoned his mother, his sister called the next door neighbour, Margaret Rhodes, to ask if she'd seen him.

That's when Mrs Rhodes saw the note in the window.

Mr Newman said: "Derek had a history of depression and anxiety and was found at his home in Rickard Road, Nelson, on March 30 following an intentional overdose of prescribed medication."

A suicide conclusion was recorded.

Anyone affected by this report can call the Samaritans free of charge on 116 123.