A 27-YEAR-OLD Nelson man who jumped to his death from the top of the car park above the town's bus station had suffered depression for several years and sometimes heard voices telling him to commit suicide.

An inquest heard how Vaseem Azam, of Ashford Street, suffered multiple injuries and died a short time later in Burnley General Hospital as a result of his fall.

His father, Mohammed Akram, also of Ashford Street, told acting coroner Richard Taylor how his son had been in hospital many times because of his depression but always discharged himself.

Mr Akram said his son had also been arrested on one occasion for criminal damage, which was due to his depression and he had sometimes heard voices telling him to commit suicide.

Mr Azam, who was married and had an 18-month-old daughter, was on medication which helped him, but his father said he had been very upset for seven days up to the day he died.

PC Keith Beckley, of Nelson Police, was the first officer at the scene in Sagar Street just after 1pm and he said he saw a group of people gathered around a man in the road in front of a car.

He said: "My first impressions were that it was a road traffic accident, but then I discovered he had fallen from the top floor of the multi-storey car park.

"The man was seen falling from the top of the building and no-one else was seen in the vicinity of him at that time."

Mr Taylor said: "It is quite clear that he was very depressed and it appears he took his own life while depressed, he killed himself."